Serpent Fangs and Lion Strength
by slytherin-kittycat
Summary: 3rd installment of “Serpent Fang” series. Hermione has joined the Order, but she can't tell Draco. Draco, loves his newfound freedom, but can't stand Hermione keeping secrets. With Voldemort still free will their relationship survive? Will they?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Alright, same old drill, I own nothing but the plot because the beloved Harry Potter belongs to the brilliant J.K. Rowling.

**Rating:** This fic is rated T for content and language.

**Summary:** Third installment of the "Serpent Fang" series. Hermione is in auror training, and had joined the Order of the Phoenix, the only problem is, she can't tell Draco about her secret work for the Order. Draco, while trying to decide his place in the world, becomes jealous and suspicious with her lack of communication, so he decides to spy. But what he discovers is much worse than he ever imagined.

**A/N:** Well everyone, here is the much anticipated third installment of the 'Serpent Fang' series. Thank you to everyone who has supported the first two fics, and thank you ahead of time to everyone who reads and supports this fic. To anyone who finds this fic without reading the first two, I recommend you read them just so you know all the back story to what goes on here. Other than that, I hope everyone enjoys this fic!

And now, I present to you, "Serpent Fangs and Lion Strength"

* * *

**Chapter 1: Visiting the Manor**

School had been out for one month, and Hermione had been at home packing up all her things and spending time with her parents before she moved in with Harry and Ron. She was moving the last week of August, but she was preparing now because it was a week before she moved in with Harry and Ron, and she was going to visit Draco at the Manor.

She could barely contain her excitement about visiting Draco the entire time she was packing her stuff. She would become uncharacteristically jumpy and giggly, and she had taken to wearing the dragon pendant almost all the time again. Her mother would always smile knowingly at her daughter when she heard her giggle, or saw her get that faraway look in her eye. Mrs. Granger could see that her precious daughter was very much in love, and while she had never met Draco, she was sure that she would like him just by how Hermione looked when she thought of him.

Mr. Granger on the other hand, did not appreciate the looks his daughter got when she thought of her boyfriend. Like many fathers, he was exceedingly overprotective of his little girl, and he did not want to think about what this _boy_ could have done to bring about such a noticeable change in his perfect daughter. Mr. Granger clearly remembered the letters Hermione would send home when she was younger telling them how awful this boy was. And now that she was feeling so different towards him, Mr. Granger highly suspected that this Malfoy boy must have put some sort of evil hex on Hermione in order to get her to think she was in love.

Now all three Grangers were all in the car, on their way to the muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione had originally wanted to apparate to the Manor, however it was a tad more difficult to apparate to places when you weren't sure where they were, or what they looked like, and while she was sure she could have done it, she didn't want to risk getting lost when she should be with Draco.

When they finally arrived, Hermione and her parents got out of the car to say good bye. Hermione shifted her bag on her shoulder. She had packed a duffle bag full of clothes and various things she needed while at Draco's, but most of her stuff remained at home where she would come to pick it up before she moved. "Bye mum, dad," Hermione said with a smile as she hugged both of her parents good-bye.

"Bye sweetie," responded her dad, attempting to hide the concern in his face. He had already informed Hermione that he did not want her to go to this boy's house, after all, who knows what he was planning on doing to her once she got there. But a major fight ensued after he put his foot down, and with both his daughter and his wife gaining up on him, he had to give in. It was very hard to take, to hear his daughter, whom he loved more than life itself shout at him and confirm the fact that she was not a little girl anymore, she was a grown woman with the right to do whatever she pleased.

"Have fun," added her mum.

"I will, and I'll be back to pick up my things in a week, then you'll be able to meet Draco," Hermione's face visibly lit up when she mentioned her boyfriend's name.

"I can't wait," smiled her mum.

Her dad on the other hand just gave her a stern look. "Don't you let this boy force you into anything you do not want to do and you know you can always come home at anytime."

Hermione bit back the frustration she felt at her fathers words, "Dad, I'll be fine; Draco's never done anything that would cause me not to completely trust him."

Ok, so that was a bit of a lie, but the only times he'd been untrustworthy was when he was trying to protect her, and when he'd been under the imperius curse, so those times didn't count. When he was himself and she was not in danger, he'd always been completely trustworthy. "I'll see you in a week!" She waved to her parents as she disappeared into the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco had been rather busy since school had ended as well. Once he and Hermione had decided when she would be coming, Draco, along with the house elves, had been working tirelessly to rid the Manor of all of Lucius' Dark Art materials. He thought long and hard about burning them, but then decided against it because he did not know how some of the stuff would react to being on fire, and he really did not want to find out. So instead, he got in contact with the Ministry, and had some officials come to the Manor and haul the stuff off to wherever they pleased.

He felt much freer and more relaxed once he knew the stuff was gone. Although he had left the Dark Art books in the library alone. He told himself that was because even the Hogwarts library carried such books in the restricted section, but the real reason was probably because of what he imagined Hermione's reaction would be if she knew he had been destroying books.

Ever since the Manor had been emptied, Draco had had the house elves tirelessly working to clean the mansion in preparation for Hermione's arrival. Now that it was finally the day they were to meet, he found himself rather jittery, which did not suit him one bit. He arose long before he needed to; he showered, dressed, and ate, then found that he had well over an hour before he was scheduled to meet Hermione at the Leaky Caldron. To occupy the remainder of his time without going absolutely mad, he briefly inspected every room in the Manor (which was no small task).

After that, there were still twenty minutes to go before he would see Hermione, and the seconds were dragging on horribly slow. Since he did not know what their plans would be, he figured it would be wise to collect some gold from Gringotts before he met Hermione, just in case they needed it. He pocketed the key to the Malfoy vault, apparated to Diagon Alley, and stepped inside the imposing white building which was Gringotts, the wizard bank.

- - - - - - - - - -

Once in the Leaky Caldron, Hermione scanned the room for Draco. She was a few minutes early, so she was not surprised when at first she could not see him. But then, as she was searching for an empty table to sit at, she heard the door on the magical side open, and when she looked over, there was Draco. He seemed to spot her immediately because he was walking towards her before she even saw him.

Hermione beamed, and had to seriously contain herself from not jumping up and down and making herself look like an idiot. She raced towards him, dropped her bag, and threw her arms around him. He too was smiling at her, and he lifted her effortlessly off the ground when she wrapped her arms around his neck. While still holding her up, he leaned in for a sweet kiss, which she gladly returned. He then placed her back down on the ground, but continued holding her; both seemed too busy lost in each others eyes to say anything. It wasn't until a rather ill-tempered witch behind them cleared her throat in a manner strikingly similar to Umbridge that they let go and moved out of the way.

Hermione smiled up at Draco, with her cheeks slightly pink, "it feels like ages since I've seen you," she said finally.

"I know, I've felt the same way," agreed Draco, as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"So what are we going to do today?"

"I was thinking we could drop you stuff off at the Manor, then go from there," suggested Draco.

Hermione lifted her bag, which she had somehow managed to forget about when she spotted Draco, "alright."

"Here I'll take that," offered Draco, he took the bag with the hand that was not holding Hermione, and carried it easily. He then moved his other hand from Hermione's waist to her hand, and led her out to the Diagon Alley. "Now just clearly think Malfoy Manor and you should be able to apparate there just fine, and as long as you're holding my hand you can't get lost."

"Ok," Hermione gripped Draco's hand tighter and took a deep breath.

"On the count of three. One . . . two . . . .three!"

With a loud pop, the two vanished from the Alley and then apparated in the grand entrance of the Malfoy Manor, usually guess would have been forced to apparate outside the Malfoy grounds, however since she was with Draco, Hermione had no trouble. Hermione stepped forward and dropped Draco's hand with a look of awe on her face. She had of course always known that Draco grew up in a huge mansion surrounded by wealth, but as she now realized, she never fully grasped just how extravagant his family's fortune was.

The entrance looked almost like a miniature version of the entrance to Hogwarts, only rather than the floor being made of stone, the flood of the Manor was made of dark, shiny wood and covered in some places by luxurious carpets. There was a large candle chandelier bedecked in all sorts of jewels hanging from the ceiling. There were two rooms on either side, and then there was a hallway leading to more rooms in front. On either side of the entrance to the hallway were dark gray marble staircases, both leading to the second floor of the Manor. Hermione's eyes followed them up and saw that there were plenty more rooms, and undoubtedly more floors above them.

Draco watched her apprehensively. Even though he had cleared the Manor of all Dark Art items, there were still remnants that a family of Dark witches and wizards owned this house. Unsurprisingly, there were snakes, and dragons pictured and carved everywhere, and most of the décor was rather dark in color.

But Hermione was not at all surprised about those things, she had grown quite familiar with them what with staying at Grimmauld Place so much in her fifth year, not that Draco had any knowledge of that of course. Indeed the Manor looked very similar to the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters, only bigger, spotlessly clean, and more expensive.

Draco walked up next to Hermione, "what do you think?"

"It's . . . wow," Hermione said, unable to find the correct words to express how amazing his house seemed.

Draco sighed in relief at her reaction, "why don't we go drop off your bag, and then I can give you a quick tour if you'd like."

Hermione nodded, although she thought that even a quick tour of this mansion would take nearly a day.

"I wasn't sure where you would like to stay. I mean I hoped you would want to join me in my room, but there are several guest bedrooms if you would feel more comfortable there." Draco watched Hermione out of the corner of his eye as he led her up one of the marble staircases.

Hermione smiled, and looked around at the second floor, which was just as imposing as the entrance had been. She laced her finger between his, "Actually I think I would feel much more comfortable staying with you." She held his hand tighter as he led her through a dark hallway.

"Excellent," Draco released Hermione's hand and held her around her waist instead.

Draco's room, Hermione found out, was on the third floor. It was apparently located at the back the house because it had a balcony, which overlooked an extensive area of grounds that seemed to go on as far as the eye could see. Hermione automatically made her way to the balcony and stepped out into the warm afternoon.

Draco meanwhile dropped her bag at the foot of his bed and watched her from inside as she walked out onto the balcony. Her hair blew slightly in the wind, and he couldn't help but smile as he watched her. After a moment she turned back inside, and blushed when she saw Draco watching her. "So, how about that tour?"

"Of course, right this way," Draco held out his arm and gestured toward the door.

Hermione took his arm, and followed along side him as he led her back out the way they came. Draco restricted the tour to the main rooms; otherwise it would take hours. They visited the living room, the family room, the ballroom, the dining room and the rooms he enjoyed being in. He did not show her any part of the third floor other than his room, because it was all bedrooms anyway. He also avoided Lucius' private study. Draco had cleared all of the Dark Art items from it; however he got a strange feeling whenever he entered the room, as if it was full to the brim with Dark Magic that simply could not be removed. Plus, that room held the portraits of all the deceased Malfoy males, and Draco did not want to subject Hermione to the rants of a room full of prejudiced paintings. Draco saved one room in particular for last, so they had to backtrack a bit at the end of the tour. Hermione was a tad confused but sure enough when Draco opened the doors, he received just the reaction he'd expected. Hermione's eyes lit up like stars as soon as she saw the shelves of books in the library.

"Wow!" she made to rush forward and grab one, but Draco adroitly grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

"Do you really want to spend our first day together outside of school reading?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

She looked back up at him with a sweet smile, "I suppose not."

"Besides, I think it's about time for dinner. Would you rather eat in, or go out?"

"Err, I don't know, whatever you decide."

"Alright, well why don't we stay in tonight and have the house elves fix us something, then tomorrow I'll take you out for a romantic dinner."

Hermione opened her mouth to go off about the mistreatment of house elves, but then decided she'd rather not get into an argument at the moment, so she let it slide.

"Mimi!" Draco called.

Almost instantly a house elf rushed to his side, and bowed deeply. "Yes Master Draco?"

"Mimi, Hermione and I would like dinner Is there anything you'd prefer to have?" he asked Hermione.

"Oh, no," Hermione said quickly, her instinct to talk about freeing house-elves was becoming harder to resist, "I'll take whatever."

"Alright, Mimi, see what looks best, and make us that."

"Yes Master Draco," Mimi bowed again, and scurried off, presumably to the kitchen.

Draco then directed a concerned gaze to Hermione, "you alright? You seem tense all of a sudden."

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just, well, I just don't like the way wizards treat house elves," she finished lamely.

"I don't beat them or anything," assured Draco.

"That may be, but I'm sure you don't pay them either."

"House-elves don't get paid," Draco scoffed as if this was obvious.

Hermione frowned and opened her mouth, "let's just forget it, I've gotten into too many arguments with people over house-elves already, and I don't want to start with you."

Draco nodded, "well, why don't we go outside so I can show you the grounds, Mimi with let us know when dinner's ready."

Draco led Hermione outside and together they walked around to the back. Hermione ooed and ahhed wondrously at the magnificent gardens surrounding the Manor. Draco led her to the back where there was a large open area that Hermione recognized as the view from Draco's balcony. Together they stood looking out at the sun, which was now setting over the mountains in the distance. "It's all so beautiful," commented Hermione.

Draco kissed her head, and she wrapped her arms around him. Draco adjusted their positions so that they were facing each other. He held her chin upwards and kissed her with such longing that she could hardly stand it. She kissed him back while hugging him tighter and moving her hands up his back to his shoulders. It seemed as if every time they kissed they formed a new bond of renewed passion and desire that was stronger than ever. The sun was sinking down towards the horizon, but neither of them noticed, they were too lost in each other to notice or care about anything else.

It wasn't until a persistent tugging at the robes around Draco's knees interrupted them that either of them were aware of where they were or how long they'd been there. Draco, who had been deeply enjoying reacquainting himself with the details of Hermione's mouth with his tongue, impatiently broke the kiss and glared at the culprit who had dared to interrupt him.

Mimi yelped and ran a few steps back. While bowing, she spoke, "I is sorry Master Draco, but your dinner is ready sir." The house elf squeaked and set her frightful eyes upon her master. Her face was pink and she was shaking vigorously.

Draco's first inclination was to punish the elf for interrupting, but Hermione, sensing his anger, brought her hand to his cheek and placed a light kiss on his other cheek. Draco, reminded of Hermione's feelings towards the treatment of house elves, took a calming breath, "thank you Mimi," he said in a voice of forced calmness, "just put it on the table in the dining room and we'll be right in."

"Yes Master!" Mimi bowed once more and scurried off to complete her task.

Draco turned his attention back to Hermione who was smiling at him as though stifling a laugh, "Now was that so hard?"

"Yes, yes it was actually," he said in a somewhat lighthearted tone which failed to disguise the fact that he was serious.

Hermione gasped, "you're impossible," she said with a light slap to his shoulder.

"I know, I like it that way," he pulled her into another kiss, "and you do too."

Following dinner, they retired early to Draco's room. It looked much colder in the dark of night, and Hermione could not imagine anyone feeling comfortable here alone. Draco seemed to sense her wariness "is something wrong?"

Hermione paused a moment, "no, nothing wrong, it's just it looks so different in the dark, scary almost."

"There's nothing in my room to be afraid of." Draco quirked an eyebrow, there was a smirk playing at the corners of his lips, "unless you're afraid of me."

Hermione looked at him straight in the eye, "never." She followed Draco to his bed and slipped beneath the perfectly soft and warm covers, the sheets felt smooth beneath her skin, and she felt as though she'd never been more comfortable in her life.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next day Hermione awoke to the sensation of Draco's hand stroking the exposed skin between her pajama top and her pants. She shifted and her breathing changed, informing him that she was awake. Draco then took the opportunity to nuzzle his face against her hair, and kiss her head lightly.

Hermione turned around to face him with a smile on her face, she made sure to leave the proximity between them dangerously close. Draco kept his hand on her side, and held her even firmer once she had turned around. He closed the distance between them with a kiss, after which he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, "Morning."

"Morning," she answered with a return kiss. "So what do you have planned for us to do today?"

"Actually I was planning on taking you to a game of quidditch, and then to Diagon Alley, and perhaps after that to Snape's house for tea." Draco said in a completely serious voice.

Hermione had actually believed him until he said the thing about going to Snape's house. She laughed, and pushed him playfully, "you silly git, come one tell me the truth, what are we doing today?"

Draco laughed for a moment before speaking once again. "Actually, there's a wizarding theater production I thought we could go see. I've already seen it a few times, but it's a play of that fantasy story you like so much, you know the one about Ronan? Anyway, I thought you'd might like to see it performed live instead of just reading in a book."

"Really?" Hermione sat up and cried with excitement, "Draco that sounds marvelous!"

Draco pushed himself as well and smiled at her. "Excellent, so then I guess we can spend the day in the city, go out to dinner, then to the performance."

"That sounds great!" Hermione hopped off the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower silly!"

Draco rolled his eyes and watched as she entered the bathroom and then leaned back on the bed as he heard her turn the water on. He didn't really think about anything while she showered, he just allowed himself to revel in the happiness of being alone with her without a care in the world. It was the most wondrous feeling in the world.

- - - - - - - - - -

The beginning of the week went along perfectly, however by the middle of the week; Draco seemed to be getting rather anxious about something. Hermione however, being so preoccupied with thoughts about auror training, didn't notice until dinner Friday night, two nights before she was to leave. Draco had taken her to a fancy restaurant for dinner, and they were munching on appetizers while waiting for the main course.

The couple had been sitting in silence for the entire evening so far, and Hermione was feeling uncomfortable, "Draco, are you alright?"

"Hmm?" Draco looked up from his dish, as if he was surprise to be addressed, "oh yeah I'm fine, just thinking about what it's gone be like after Sunday."

"Oh, I know!" cried Hermione. "I can't believe that it's already nearly time to start training, I mean I'm so nervous. And I'm excited too, but still." At this time their food came, and Hermione paused to cut a bit of her steak. After a few bites, she began talking again.

"And then moving in with Harry and Ron; that should be interesting, I'm sure it will be fun though. And . . . ." as she was about to continue, she looked up and saw Draco mashing his potatoes into his plate with his fork, with a very unhappy expression on his face. Hermione frowned, "And I'm not helping you feel any better, am I?"

Draco merely grunted, and dropped his fork onto his plate, suddenly he was not the least bit hungry.

Hermione bit her lip and placed his utensils on her own plate. She then reached across the table and placed her hand upon Draco's, "Draco, tell me what's wrong."

Draco didn't speak, nor did he look at her.

Hermione laced her fingers into his, and gave him a pleading look, "Draco, please tell me what's wrong? The best I can do is guess unless you tell me. Please."

At first Draco made no movement, however after a moment, he tightened his grip on her hand, and finally turned his eyes upon her. His expression was sad, and he looked rather helpless in a sense, but still he did not speak.

Hermione mirrored his sad expression, she was yeaning to help him, but she did not know what to say or do. She was rather surprised when after a moment he half smiled and let out a hollow laugh.

"I envy you," he said.

Hermione sent him a quizzical look, and finally let go of his hand. "What do you mean?"

"I envy you; you've just got everything figured out. You know what you want to do; you've already proven that you're going to be wonderful at it, you just, you're so lucky. Me on the other hand, once you're gone I'll just be lost."

Hermione sat staring with her mouth open for a few moments; she honestly didn't know what to say to that. She had never considered herself a particularly lucky person, although when she compared her life to Draco's she could see where he was coming from. Sure he had money, but beyond that he didn't have much. No friends to speak of other than her, no plan for his life, and perhaps worse than that, no sense of where he wanted to go. "Draco you know you could always come Auror training, they're always desperate for more, and you more than qualify for the training."

Draco let out another empty laugh and shook his head, "no, maybe one day, but right now, that's just not the life for me." Draco paused to take a bite of his dinner. "Besides, I can't imagine the two guard dogs you're going to be living with would take too kindly to me joining in on the fun."

Hermione hung her head, there was much more than a hint of jealousy in Draco's tone, and she didn't like it. "Draco, please don't bring them into this."

But it was too late, now the floodgates were opened and Draco wasn't ready to stop. "Speaking of your two _friends_ where are you all living anyway? You can't have had much time to look for a place, and I pity you if you allowed Potter and Weasley to find a place without you seeing it first."

Hermione was momentarily stunned, she hadn't thought of that. Naturally, since Harry had inherited Grimmauld Place from Sirius, they were going to live there. However, since the house was also the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, and she was not the secret keeper, she couldn't tell him where it was even if she wanted to. Hermione shrugged and attempted to laugh to hide her unease, "I gave them very specific instructions for what I'd need in a place to live," she lied, "I'm sure the place they found will be more than satisfactory."

Draco huffed, "I wouldn't bet on it."

Hermione, who felt bad for lying did not want to get into an argument right now, so she opted for a change in subject. "But why are you so moody all of a sudden? I thought you were going to do some traveling, see the world, I would definitely be looking forward to that if I were you."

"I suppose," answered Draco with a shrug.

"Come on," Hermione smiled, and reached for his hand again. This time he held hers back as soon as their fingers touched, "be happy, you're going to see so many amazing things, and I'm gonna be stuck here studying like an overachieving bookworm."

Draco couldn't help but laugh genuinely, "Hermione," he whispered as if he were telling her a very important secret, "you _are_ an overachieving bookworm."

"Me? Nah," she answered with a wave of her hand. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand tighter, "but seriously, everything's going to be great. If anything, I'm the one who should be moody."

"What are you talking about? You love studying and working all the time."

"Yeah, but I'm stuck hanging around Harry and Ron all day long, you on the other hand," she paused awkwardly, "well I'm sure you'll meet plenty of interesting people around the world." Suddenly, she was straight faced, and did not seem eager to continue the conversation.

Draco gave her a questioning until he figured out what she was thinking about. He attempted to make eye contact, but she was looking determinedly away, so instead, he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. She finally looked back at him, with a look of near sadness in her eyes.

"You know you don't have to worry about me being unfaithful," he whispered huskily, "because I don't have to look anywhere but right in front of me to know that I already have the most amazing, the smartest, and the most beautiful woman in the world."

Hermione blushed and tried not to smile, though it was clear she wanted to, "you can't possibly know that," she said modestly.

Draco kissed her hand again, "yes, I can."

Dinner didn't last too much longer after that, both Hermione and Draco seemed to feel a need to affirm their passion and love for one another, which they did as soon as they arrived back in Draco's room.

The next morning, Draco kept shooting glances at Hermione, who would blush and feel the urge to giggle every time. Unfortunately, the happy and flirtatious atmosphere was disrupted by a white snowy owl, who flew straight into the room and landed on the breakfast table. Hermione gasped, and threw a wary glance at Draco. He was glaring furiously at the beautiful owl, "Potter," he growled under his breath.

Hermione hastily removed the letter Hedwig was carrying, and attempted to shoo her away. Hedwig ruffled her wings and clicked her beak at Hermione, clearly expecting to deliver a response. Draco however, did not care if the bird had been instructed to wait or not, there was no way he was going to allow Potter's bird to stay in his house, and if the ruddy owl didn't leave, he was going to make it.

Hedwig seemed ready for a snack, so she bent down to nibble on some of Hermione's breakfast, but in a flash, Draco grabbed the plate and roared at the owl. "Get the fuck out!"

Hedwig did not need telling twice, with a startled squawk, she spread her wings, and flew out the way she came in. Hermione chose not to say anything, since she knew it would be a waste of time anyway. Instead, she removed Harry's letter and read what he had written:

_Hey Hermione,_

_Earlier today, Ron's dad had your flat connected to the floo network so we could try to convince you to move in today instead of Sunday, but your mum said you were gone til Sunday morning. We asked her where you went, and if you remembered that Sunday was move in day, and she assured us that you did. But since neither I nor Ron remembered you saying anything about going anywhere before you moved in, I thought I'd send a little reminder to you. Hope you're having fun wherever you are and we can't wait to see you Sunday!_

_Harry_

Hermione folded the note and hid it in her pocket as quickly as possible, but it was too late, the damage had been done. Draco was already sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest looking livid.

"Draco?" ventured Hermione in a quiet voice.

But Draco did not respond, instead he stormed out of the kitchen. Hermione hurried after him, mostly because she wanted to talk with him and prevent him from being mad, but also partly because it would be all too easy for her to get lost in the Manor, and she did not like the thought of that at all. Being in the Manor with Draco was one thing, feeling lost and alone in it was quite another, and it frightened her a bit. Hermione had to jog in order to catch Draco, whose brisk pace was causing his cloak to billow out behind him in a manner which would have given Snape a run for his money.

Draco led them into a dark family room, one of the rooms which he had avoided on the tour, it was so dark that even the torches on the wall couldn't seem to bring light or warmth into this room. Hermione did not enjoy being in this room at all, however in the mood Draco was in now, she was hardly surprised he had gone here.

She braced herself to face Draco's towering temper before speaking. When she finally did, it was in a tone of forced calmness, "Draco please, I don't want to spend our last day together with you mad."

"Well then, in that case why don't you pack up now and run home to Potty and the Weasel?" Draco spat.

Hermione scoffed, in a few long strides, she crossed the room and was standing in front of Draco. Before he could react, she slapped him across the face, leaving a stinging sensation, along with a defined red mark on one side of his face. "Draco Malfoy that his enough!" she shouted. "I am sick and tired of your fucking attitude and I'm not going to sit here and take it anymore." Draco stared back at her, his expression was a bit angry, but mostly blank as he was still shocked from the slap.

Hermione continued, "Do you honestly think that you're the only one suffering here? Do you think I'm looking forward to waking up everyday without you there? Do you think I enjoy the idea of you traveling the world to god knows where doing god knows what while I'm left here waiting for you to come back?" She more she spoke, the more she broke down, all the concerns she had been hiding during the week were flooding out, and she couldn't stop it.

"I'm not looking forward to it, I don't want you to leave, and I don't want to have to wait and wonder when I'll see you next. But I need to start my training, and you need to do what you have to do, and we both have to deal with it.

Draco listened to everything Hermione said, the anger in his face fading into concern the more she spoke. He honestly hadn't been thinking that the situation might be just as difficult for her to deal with as it was for him, and he finally began to realize that his attitude the past couple days couldn't have been helping matters much. He was staring at a random spot passed Hermione when a thought popped into his head, "stay here with me," he said in nearly a whisper.

"What?" asked Hermione who was sure she had misheard him.

"Stay here with me, you can apparate to the Ministry in the mornings, and then we can still be together!"

Hermione was looking stunned, and she did not want to be the one to kill the hope in Draco's eyes, but she knew that she could not live with him. She bit her lip and frowned. She shook her head as she answered, "no, Draco I'm sorry I can't, not now."

"Why not? It' be the perfect answer to our problems, then we'll both be happy!" he smiled as if it were truly that easy.

Hermione grasped his hands tight, and she could see the hope flickering in his eyes already, "Draco I'm sorry I wish I could, but there are dozens of reasons why we can't."

"Why?" he asked, the hurt already spreading into his features.

"For one, there's what my parents, particularly my father would say. He didn't even want me coming here for a week, then there's Harry and Ron, they'd have a cow if I moved in with you. And even more importantly, there's my training, I doubt I'll be able to focus at all if I were living with you."

"That's not true!" Draco interrupted, I would never distract you!"

Hermione laughed, "oh no? Interesting Mr. Malfoy, I seem to recall that studying together in close quarters it how we arrived in this situation to begin with, correct?"

Draco considered this, and as the memories of their early relationship returned to his thoughts, a mischievous smirk found its way onto his lips, "I suppose you're right."

"So you see, I can't stay here, and besides, I think it will do you good to get out and travel a bit anyway."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I suppose."

Hermione smiled and kissed the same cheek she had slapped earlier, "You better now?"

"I suppose I'll live."

Hermione rolled her eyes this time.

"Are you mocking me Miss Granger?" Draco questioned playfully.

"If I am, what are you going to do about it?"

Draco kissed her lips, "I'm sure I'll be able to think of something."

Hermione moved real close to Draco so that their mouths were nearly touching, "I'm waiting."

The heat of her breath was almost unbearably enticing to Draco, who licked his lips before closing the distance between them and kissing her fully.

With the exception of their morning fight, the rest of the day was spent in a good mood. But even that was not enough to allow Hermione to relax that night. She was lying in Draco's arms, his well toned chest pressed up against her back. His deep breathing was relaxing, but not quite enough to put her to sleep. She held his arms tightly to her, the warmth of his body comforted her and made her feel safe, secure and beyond that, loved. She did not want to go to sleep or wake up without that feeling day after day. She truly wished she could just stay with him instead of moving in with Harry and Ron, however if she was planning on joining the Order, which she was, she could not move in with Draco, it would involve keeping far too many secrets from him. She lifted one of his hands to her lips and kissed it as she lay plagued with thoughts. She closed her eyes in an effort to find sleep, and an unbidden tear rolled down her cheek and onto the pillow, which absorbed it into a tiny damp puddle. "I love you," she whispered into the night before finally drifting into sleep.

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Well there you have it, I hope everyone enjoyed chapter one! And for those of you who are curious, the later chapters include much more plot/action, but I had to start will a little fluff. ;o) Anyway, please review, thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I'm sure everyone is bored with these disclaimers by now, but just to make sure there's no confusion, I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, I hope you all will forgive me. Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter:

_Modaprincesa, blkntandogs, Leandra, piper, zippyziggy, mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe _– thank you so much! It's awesome that you like my fics, and I hope you continue to like this one as well. Thanks for the reviews!  
_xoKaSsIeox_ – lol well I'm very happy to hear that my fic was able to brighten your night! And thank you very much for the compliments about my other fics as well!. Thanks for the review!  
_Zuvalupa_ – as always, thank you very much for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter too!  
_Jennbe, Chantal J, Sam, I wish your heart was mine, anIme-prYncess, SweetSummerSun31, dixie15, southernsweetdevil, steelo, liz, a, Clear Black Glass, sunflower18_ – Thanks for the review! Hope you like this chapter!  
_sprinkles.over.glass _– you'rewelcomeyou'rewelcomeyou'rewelcome lol And thank you as well, I'm so glad that you like my stories so much! And I see you've updated your fic as well, I'm hoping to have time to read the latest chapter in the next day or so, I'm really looking forward to more!_  
midnightwanderer01 _– Thanks for the review! I'm not sure when I'll be updating" Lost", but I promise I'll get to it as fast as I can.  
_Mysteriouscharm _– thank you! I'm glad you like it. To get to my other stories, just click on my penname, that should bring you to my profile, and at the bottom of that will be the links to my other fics. "Serpent Fang in the Lion's Den" is the first one of this series.  
_Sayaku-chan _– I'm very glad you liked it. And thank you so much for pointing out my spelling errors! Hopefully this chapter is typo free, but I can't make any promises! lol ;o)  
_FallenThrough_ – thank you very much! And I have not forgotten about your fic, I've just been away, so I'm planning on reading and reviewing the first chapter later today. :o)

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**Chapter 2: Meeting the Grangers and Auror Training**

"Hermione, honestly, why can't you just stay at the Manor, and apparate to the Ministry for your Auror training?" Draco asked with a pout on his face.

"Because, I already told you, I've already made arrangements to stay with Harry and Ron," coaxed Hermione.

Draco did not bother to hide the look of resentment in his face. But he prudently decided to drop that matter. Instead he went for another one. "Why won't you tell me where you'll be staying?"

To this, Hermione stopped short, and took just a split second too long to hide the guilty look in her face. "Because, Harry and Ron don't want you to know, cause there afraid you'll apparate in and out just to annoy them."

"Well that would be rather entertaining."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.

"Come on Hermione, I would never do that unannounced because I know you wouldn't like it. So just tell me where you'll be so I won't need to worry and wonder."

There was a pained look in her eyes, as if she really wanted to tell him. "I'm sorry, but I promised. She placed a kiss on his lips which he did not respond to. His lack of action made her feel even worse, "Draco you know I love you, and I'll write to you all the time, and I'm sure we'll be able to get together when you're not traveling."

Draco closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, he did not want the week to be over, with Hermione there, he had never felt freer or happier in his life. "I love you too; I just don't like not knowing where you'll be."

"I'm right here," she pressed the side of her fist into his chest right over his heart, "And that's where I'll always be.

Draco didn't bother attempting to hide his frown. He felt as though she didn't trust him because she wouldn't tell him where she was going. And he hated not being trusted.

From another room in the Manor, a clock chimed 10 am. "It's time to go, my parents are expecting us."

"Right," Draco turned away from her.

"Draco please don't act like this, I don't want to say goodbye with you being mad at me."

He turned back and looked her in the eye, "I'm not mad," he cause a moment, "I just don't want to say goodbye."

"Well we don't have to say goodbye just yet, so don't you start rushing things." Hermione insisted, although her eyes were becoming damp.

"Right, let's go."

"Ok, hold my hand so you know where to apparate to, we have to make sure we end up inside the house, otherwise muggles might see."

Draco grabbed Hermione's hand tight, and with a pop, the two disapparated out of the Manor, and apparated in the family room of Hermione's house. Draco looked around with a highly skeptical look on his face. There were several odd things in this muggle dwelling that Draco had never seen before. There was a large black box on top of some sort of pedestal inside which there was another, much smaller black box, and several other objects in covers of varying colors, lined up neatly next to one another like books on a shelf. There were also lamps, although they were not lit by candles as normal lamps were, these were lit by some sphere like object, and all these lamps had cords leading from them to holes in the wall.

Hermione smiled amusedly at Draco's reaction to her house. Quickly, before her parents came into the room, she pointed out the television, DVD player, and DVD's to Draco. She didn't bother to explain what they did or anything about the lights.

"Hermione, sweetie, is that you?"

"Yes mum!" shouted Hermione.

Draco turned towards the voice and was greeted by the sight of the kitchen. Draco rarely spent any time in his own kitchen, so he didn't bother to fathom the strange contraptions that occupied this muggle kitchen. Not that he had any time to explore any of them anyway, for at that moment, Hermione's mum came rushing in. She did a very obvious double take when she saw her sweet little girl standing next to a strikingly handsome you man.

"Hermione!" she cooed, after getting over her initial surprise, "it's so wonderful to see you again." She turned to Draco, who was maintaining as blank an expression as possible, so as not to give a negative impression despite his wariness around all the strange muggle contraptions.

"And you of course must be Draco." Mrs. Granger added. "Yes, well Hermione's told us a lot about you."

Draco quickly put to use his perfected charming and mingling skills and held out his hand to Mr. Granger, with a slight bow of his head he said in a smooth voice, "Mrs. Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Mrs. Granger smiled a bit abashed, "such a gentlemen."

Draco nodded in acknowledgement of the compliment but said no more. Hermione watched the whole scene while suppressing a fit of giggles. She couldn't say why she found it so funny, but Draco was so remarkably different in every situation that it was amazing he was the same person from instance to instance. She of course preferred the way he was when it was just the two of them, but this Draco was not bad either, at least he was making a good impression on her mum. Her dad however, would be another story, he, like most fathers, was very protective of his little girl. Hermione had not failed to notice that he never seemed to enjoy conversations that involved Draco, and while he kept his mouth shut around her, she was not foolish enough to hope he would do the same around Draco.

As if on cue, Hermione's father entered. "Hermione!" He called walking directly to her, and making no acknowledgment of Draco. "How's my little girl?"

"I'm fine Dad," said Hermione, expecting her father to then introduce himself to Draco. But when her father made no effort to even look in Draco's general direction, Hermione took charge, "Daddy, remember I told you about my boyfriend? Well, this is Draco."

Mr. Granger turned and grudgingly viewed Draco, looking at him as if he was sizing up a particularly formidable enemy.

"Mr. Granger," Draco held out his hand and bowed his head slightly just as he had to Mrs. Granger, "It's nice to meet you sir."

Mr. Granger did not shake Draco's hand; rather he looked at Draco with increased suspicion, "_Draco_ is it? What kind of a name is that?"

Draco dropped his hand, and his lips instinctively curled into his all-too-familiar smirk, "I believe it's the one my parents gave me, do you have a problem with that?" Draco quickly threw his manners aside in light of Mr. Granger's rude behavior.

The last thing Hermione wanted was a fight between Draco and her father, but she knew that neither of them was likely to back down if they were allowed to continue. Plus, Hermione would not put it passed Draco to curse her father if she allowed things to get too out of hand. So, in an effort to avoid any major conflict she turned to Draco and put her hand on his chest, "Draco maybe you'd better go. My parents can help me with my things."

Draco's smirk faded as he turned to Hermione. He wanted to argue for her to allow him to stay, but the pleading look on her face caused him to hold his tongue. Instead, as if to prove he were the world's most perfect gentlemen, he nodded, "as you wish." He leaned in and kissed her firmly on the lips, which she returned, though he could sense a slight amount of unease. He through a smug glare at Mr. Granger, a brief but genuine smile at Hermione, and before the father could say anything, Draco dissaparated with a loud pop.

"Dad why did you have to be so rude to Draco!" Hermione demanded furiously the moment Draco had left.

Mr. Granger looked entirely taken aback at being spoken to in such a manner by his own daughter. He opened his mouth, and with a defiance equal to Hermione's he argued, "I don't know how that young man made you forget the past, however I remember you telling us about the horribly things he said to you and your friends when you were younger."

Hermione sighed with annoyance, "Daddy, that's all in the past, and he's changed he never says or does anything bad to me anymore. He's wonderful."

"Really dear, he seemed like a perfectly fine gentlemen to me," added Mrs. Granger.

"Hmph, he seemed like a bratty little snob to me."

Hermione balled her fists in anger, "You know, Draco offered to allow me to stay at his house instead of moving in with Harry and Ron, but I said no because I knew you wouldn't approve, but now I'm thinking that I might just go do it anyway! It would certainly make me happier!" Hermione stormed out of the room, up to her own room. In actuality, it was an empty threat, while she would have been happy living with Draco in the Manor, she could not move in with him because she had already planned on joining the Order and there was work to be done that she could not share with him. But her parents had no knowledge of the Order, so they had no idea.

"Now wait one minute young lady!" demanded Mr. Granger.

From upstairs there was a slamming of a door.

"Dear, please calm down. After all, Hermione's not a little girl anymore; she's a young woman and an adult. She's perfectly free and able to make her own decisions about her life," Mr. Granger said consolingly.

"I refuse to allow her to move in with that _thing_."

Mrs. Granger chuckled softly, "That thing's name is Draco Malfoy, and from the looks of it, he makes Hermione as happy as I've ever seen her, but Hermione would not move in with him."

"How can you be so sure? We have raised a very strong and independent child, and she will do what she wants."

"She won't because she's already promised to move in with Harry and Ron, and Hermione never backs down from her word. But still, she is an adult, and it's time you learned to let go. Think about talking to Draco sometime, getting to know him, because I doubt Hermione's letting go of him anytime soon."

Mr. Granger sighed, but found himself momentarily choked up. "I'm just not ready to say goodbye to my little girl."

"I know, it's hard for me too, but you said so yourself, she's strong, independent, determined and intelligent, she's going to be just fine. She knows we care for her, her friends care for her, and Draco cares for her as well."

Mr. Granger conceded with a sigh, he then cautiously made his way up to Hermione's room. He paused at the door, and heard the scraping of boxes against the wooden floor, "Hermione?" he said softly.

"Come in," came a stern voice from inside the room.

Mr. Granger entered his daughters' room, and suddenly felt a bit choked up at how empty and barren it looked without all her stuff in it. He turned to Hermione with an apologetic expression on his face, "Hermione, I'm sorry it's just hard for a father to see his little girl growing up."

"But you can't stop me Daddy, and I think that if you just talked to him, you'd really like Draco. He's very smart and witty."

"I have no doubt that I would like him, that's what scares me the most, the thought of a man in my baby's life, taking her away so she wouldn't need her daddy anymore."

"Daddy you know no one could do that, I love you and mum, but I love Draco too."

"I know, and I'm sorry about how I acted, I'll behave better next time, I promise."

"Good, now let me just go get Harry and Ron, and then they can come help me with my things."

- - - - - - - - - -

Harry and Ron had apparated over to the Granger's house to pick up Hermione, and after having a small lunch, they helped her bring her things to Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Since it was Harry's house they had decided to stay there, that way, since they were all joining the Order, they would constantly be around the Headquarters in case anything important came up.

The house was still rather too dark for Hermione's tastes, and while Draco's Manor had been filled with a similar décor, it had still retained some warmth and charm. Grimmauld Place however, lacked all warmth and had long since lost its charm.

Hermione, Harry and Ron each had their own room on the second floor. Hermione wrinkled her nose at the room she was to be occupying; it was covered in a thick layer of dust which she was determined to remove as soon as possible. Harry and Ron had moved in the previous week, so they helped Hermione clean her room and unpack her things, and by the end of the day, the room was looking much more to Hermione's taste.

Not long after they finished unpacking, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny arrived for dinner. Mrs. Weasley of course did most of the cooking, and all in all it was a very pleasant night. Ginny kept hinting that she would like to stay over, however since Harry, Ron, and Hermione were to begin their auror training early the following morning, she was not allowed to.

Before turning in, Hermione sat at her desk and penned a note to Draco;

_Draco,_

_I am sorry to have had to say goodbye so soon this afternoon, and I apologize for my father's behavior, he's really not bad, and I hope you'll be willing to give him another chance sometime. The move in went well, although I must say I do prefer the furnishings of your house to the one's here (no that does not mean I've changed my mind about staying with you, it's just a comment.) I miss you already, and I hope we'll see each other again soon. But I know you're planning on doing some traveling, so let me know where you plan to go first, and be sure to tell me all the wonderful things you get to see and do. I hope you find whatever it is you need to find while you're away, but always remember that I'll be here waiting for you to return._

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Hermione reread the note before sealing it closed. Somehow, it brought a tear to her eye. She knew that Draco had a lot of soul searching he needed to do in order to find out what to do with his life, but she simply could not ignore the concern that was nagging at her. What if he found something, and what if that something was far away from here? She could not leave to go wherever he was; she had a life here, and duties to fulfill for her auror training and for the Order, once she was allowed to join.

Amazingly, so far their relationship had stood through all the tests it had been put through, but what if this turned out to be one test too much? Hermione wasn't sure she could handle the heartbreak that would come with that. She sealed the note and sent it off with her owl into the night, all she could do now, was trust their love for each other, and wait for whatever was to come.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco didn't bother watching Hermione's owl as it flew off with his response. He knew he had probably come off angrier than he should have, but he was still hurt that she couldn't at least tell him where she was staying with Potty and the Weasel. What was the big deal? He was her boyfriend; didn't that give him a right to know where she was? She expected him to tell her where he was going and what he was doing all the time, so why couldn't she do the same? At any rate, he hoped the end of his letter had let her know that he wasn't mad with her, not really anyway, he was just mad with the situation.

After completing the letter and sending it off, Draco magically packed his trunk, and shrunk it so that it could fit inside his pocket. It was still about 6:30am, but he was in no mood to sleep, and the Manor seemed about 10 degrees colder now that Hermione was gone. He stalked down to the kitchen and called to Mimi, "I am going to my estate in Italy, I expect you to meet me there by noontime, and the other elves shall stay here and tend to the Manor.

"Yes sir Master Draco!" Mimi bowed, and scampered off to give the other house elves their instructions.

Draco stepped outside the Manor, he did not know why but for some reason it was easier for him to apparate great distances if he began outside rather than inside. He concentrated on where we had going, and with a loud pop, he vanished from the front of the elegant Manor. Moments later, he apparated at the front of another house far away; it was still quite a bit larger than most people's dwellings, however it was a mere cottage compared to the Manor.

Draco whispered a spell to open the door, a white flash of light appeared along with a flat panel. Draco placed his right hand on the panel, and after feeling a prickling sensation, the door opened to allow him entry. The panel was part of a security system put into place ages ago by Malfoy's long deceased, yet the old magic still effectively prevented unwanted visitors from breaking in whilst the house was empty.

Draco automatically went up to his old room, and found it to be rather dusty, he'd have Mimi fix that once she arrived. He removed his trunk from his pocket, placed it at the foot of the bed, restored it to its original size, and magically unpacked it so that all his robes hung themselves neatly in the closet.

Realizing that he had not been to this particular vacation home for a few years, Draco gave himself a tour to re-familiarize himself with the location of the rooms, and the surrounding view. Italy really was quite lovely; he'd never really taken the time to look before. But now, the sun was still low over the horizon, and the view was as pretty as a picture. However, without someone to share that picture with, the view, no matter how stunning it was, was nothing more than a view.

By the time he was finished exploring the house and unpacking it was nearly 8am. His stomach was threatening to audibly rumble, so he decided to take himself out for breakfast. He apparated into the nearest all magical town and sauntered down the street. Several of the shops were already open, though a few were still in the process of opening. Draco stepped into a small café and purchased a pastry breakfast. He continued down the street, munching on his food, but the further he walked, the more his mind raced. He had come here to see what else was out there in the world, but where was one to start looking when one did not know what it was they were looking for?

With a frown, Draco continued down the street, he observed the passers by, the shopkeepers, the families out on holiday. No matter who they were, they all seemed so happy, how could that be? They lived such mundane repetitive lives, how could they be happy with that? What was it that brought those smiles to their faces? Draco was sure that was what he was looking for, but honestly, what made him happy?

- - - - - - - - - -

The morning of the first day of Auror training, Hermione awoke even earlier than she had planned. She was terribly excited, and could hardly manage to stand still. She showered and dressed, and then made her way down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the three of them. She didn't expect the boys to be around for another half hour or so, so she took her time in preparing the eggs sausage and toast.

By the time they did come around, breakfast was prepared and Hermione was halfway through her eggs. "Wow, thanks Hermione!" Ron said as he loaded his plate up with food.

"Yes, well, don't expect me to cook breakfast everyday," Hermione said after swallowing a bit of toast.

"We won't" chanted the boys, sounding much like a class repeating something for a teacher, although Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that they would begin to expect it if she did it too often.

"So, what do you think they'll teach us today?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I imagine that today they'll focus on the objectives, what we'll need to learn, stuff like that," answered Hermione with a casual shrug.

At that moment, two owls flew through the door, one was Hermione's owl, and the other was an owl carrying a copy of the Daily Prophet. Hermione paid the owl delivering the newspaper, but didn't even cast a second glance at the Daily Prophet before tearing into the note her own owl had delivered.

_Hermione,_

_I'll give your father another chance, as soon as he's willing to apologize to my face. Are you sure you haven't changed your mind? You know it would be much more fun to be here than wherever the hell you are. And just to remind you, we would be able to see each other soon if you would just tell me where you're staying. _

_No matter, I'm leaving for Italy today anyway, and then I may go to France or Spain, depending on my mood. I'll miss you. Good Luck with Auror training, and feel free to use Potter and Weasley as test dummies for any new hexes you learn. They've already got the dummy part down perfectly, so being test subjects should be no trouble._

_Until we meet again,_

_Draco_

Hermione was a little disappointed that he still seemed so angry in the beginning of his letter, but she laughed in spite of herself when she got to the part about hexing Harry and Ron.

"What's so funny?" asked Ron.

"Nothing," answered Hermione, still reading the letter, and giggling again.

Ron and Harry sent each other a mischievous look, and Harry, with his lightning fast seeker reflexes, snatched the parchment out of Hermione's hands.

"Hey give that back!" cried Hermione, but not before both Harry and Ron read it.

"You're laughing at him saying you should hex us?" said Harry as he threw the parchment back at Hermione with a look of disgust.

"What? It's not like I would ever actually do that, it's just funny to think of what how he'd sound while saying that."

"Oh sure, bloody hilarious," spat Ron.

Hermione folded the parchment and placed it safely in her pocket, but that did not remove the slight amount of tension that had taken over the room. The tension lasted until they stood up to leave for the Ministry of Magic, at that time, whatever tense feelings they had were replaced with anticipation. Hermione in particular felt just as she had on her first day at Hogwarts. She was determined to prove herself an accomplished witch who was fully capable of becoming an Auror.

The three apparated into the Ministry of Magic lobby, and asked the security guard where Auror training was to take place. He directed them to a conference room on the main floor, and off they went. There were quite a few less people in the corridor leading to the conference rooms. Harry led the way, and once they found the appropriate room, he opened the door and the three entered. The room held a large polished wooden table, surrounded by comfortable looking chairs. There were no candles lighting the room, instead the ceiling seemed to glow with a natural light. There was one other wizard, who was a few years older than them but apparently a trainee as well, who was already seated at the table, but other than that it was empty. The wizard smiled at the trio, who smiled back, and then followed Hermione to the head of the table where there appeared to be a sign-in sheet.

Hermione took out a quill from her pocket and signed her name. As she wrote, she saw that the other wizards name was Michael Dugsby, she made a mental note of this and then seated herself in one of the chairs.

In the next five minutes, one other trainee, also a wizard entered and nodded at all the room's occupants. Once everyone was seated, they looked around, wondering if there was something they should be doing. Hermione was quizzing herself with any and all knowledge she may need to become an Auror as if they would be tested on what they knew that very day.

At precisely 10 o'clock, the doors opened again and Kingsley Shacklebolt entered the room. Hermione Harry and Ron lit up at the sight of the familiar face. "Good Morning everyone," he began as soon as he entered. "Congratulations on deciding to pursue careers as aurors, and dedicating yourselves to what is a very dangerous, yet extremely exciting and rewarding career."

Hermione sat up a little straighter in her seat, ready to prove that she was worthy of such an important position.

"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt, a few of you I already know," he nodded to Harry, Ron and Hermione, "and the others I am sure I will get to know in no time at all. Today will begin by me giving you an overview of what the next three years of training will entail. You have all achieved the appropriate N.E.W.T.s required for this training, so we know you are skilled; however we also want to know about your thought process. As a result, this afternoon, we will be giving you examples of situations that Aurors have actually faced, and we would like you to write how you would handle the situation in a way that would cause the least damage, yet at the same time be most effective. Your answers will help give me an idea of where you all are coming from, and will allow me to help teach you how to think like an Auror. Shall we begin?"

Hermione nodded, with a thirsty expression on her face. She had her quill loaded, and her parchment notebook out ready and waiting to begin. The overview took until lunchtime, and by that time Hermione had several pages detailing just about everything that Kingsley had told them word for word. Harry Ron and the fifth trainee hadn't bothered to take notes, and Michael had only written about half a page with what he deemed to be the most important information.

All of the trainees sat together for lunch in the Ministry restaurant. Kingsley had some business to attend to in his office, so they were left to get to know each other on their own. Hermione sat next to Harry and the other two men sat on the opposite side of the table. Once they'd all introduced themselves, conversation seemed a little easier, although Hermione felt a tad left out because she was the only female amongst the trainees. The guys, as guys always seemed to do, immediately began discussing quidditch. Hermione allowed her mind to wander, and after thinking about how marvelous a career as an auror was going to be, her thoughts wandered to Draco. Where was he now? Was he missing her as much as she already missed him?

"Hermione?" Michael, who had seemingly left the other conversation behind was looking at Hermione with a smile.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hermione said reluctantly pulling herself from her thoughts about Draco.

"Nothing, you just haven't been talking and you looked like you were off in space."

Hermione smiled, "well quidditch isn't one of my favorite conversation topics."

"Ah, I understand, my little sister doesn't see the thrill in quidditch either." Michael paused, "so what were you thinking about?"

An instant light pink blush spread across Hermione cheeks, and she shot a quick glance to assure that Harry and Ron weren't listening, "oh, nothing."

But Michael had a keen sense of observation so he had seen the blush, and the glance, "ah no, you're not fooling me, I've seen that look on my sister dozens of times. I'm guessing you're thinking about a certain gentlemen, a crush perhaps?" Michael eyed Harry and Ron and winked at Hermione with a knowing glance.

Hermione took a second to catch onto what he was implying, but when she did she laughed. "No no, those two are just my best friends, but you're almost right. I was thinking about my boyfriend."

"I see, so you already have a boyfriend then," Michael kept his smile, but somehow his face still looked a tad disappointed. "And how come this boyfriend of yours isn't here?"

Hermione gave Michael a somewhat calculating look; she wasn't sure exactly how much she should tell him. She was not one to divulge her private life to anyone, let alone to someone she'd just met. "Well," she began cautiously, "He's certainly smart enough and skilled enough to be an auror, but it's just not the right career for him."

"Ok," Michael instantly noted how long it had taken Hermione to respond and he was intrigued, obviously there was a much bigger story here than she was letting on. "Well, this man is very lucky to be dating someone as intelligent and beautiful as you," Hermione blushed, but at the same time felt awkward receiving flirtatious compliments from a guy other than Draco. It seemed almost wrong, like she shouldn't be flattered by them. "what's his name?" Michael continued.

"Draco," Hermione stated, her voice had become quieter all of a sudden.

Michael's face took on a pensive expression, "that's a unique name, but it sounds really familiar, I think I remember reading something in the Daily Prophet about someone named Draco."

Hermione tensed, she did not like where this conversation was going at all, and she was not in the mood to explain everything that happened between her and Draco after the Dementor's Kiss article came out. She quickly, (and rather rudely in Michael's opinion) pushed herself away from the table. "I've got to run to the bathroom, I'll see you all back in class." And with that, she fled through the doors and out the restaurant.

"What made her so eager to leave?" asked Ron, now that the other three boys finally noticed she had been at the table.

Michael was still staring at the doors where she had left with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Yeah, Mike, what'd you say to her?" asked Toby, the other trainee.

"Not sure, she was kinda off in space, and I asked her what she was thinking about and …"

"Malfoy," interrupted Harry and Ron at the same time.

"What?" Michael asked, another spark of recognition igniting in his brain.

Harry rolled his eyes, "whenever she gets that far off look in her eye, she's thinking about Malfoy, her boyfriend." Ron made a gagging gesture causing both Harry and Toby to laugh heartily.

"Wait a minute," Michael interrupted their laughter with more than a hint of worry in his voice, "isn't he the one they caught last year, the _Death Eater_." Michael stressed the last part softly and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I thought he got the Dementor's Kiss."

"Yeah," Harry said with a nonchalant wave of his hand, "but then we found out that he was under the imperius curse the whole time, so he got off and they released him. They didn't make too big a deal out of it though, the Ministry didn't want everyone to know that they'd messed up."

"Oh," Michael said disbelievingly, "so you're sure he's innocent?"

"Innocent of being a Death Eater, yes," said Ron. "Innocent of being a slimy, insufferable, sleazy, Slytherin git, absolutely not."

Michael laughed, "Hermione certainly seems to like him though."

"Yeah well, she's strange, and stubborn as hell, so don't get on her case about it, cause she'll never listen to reason," advised Ron with a noticeable trace of annoyance in his voice. "Trust me, we've all tried to talk her out of it more times than I can count."

Michael nodded, but did not join in the conversation with the other boys, instead he was thinking about Hermione.

* * *

Well, there you have it, I hope you liked the second chapter. This fic is turning out to be harder to begin than I thought, so the next update might take a while. Once again, I know where I want to go, but I'm not quite sure how to get there yet. Anyway, as always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated, and everyone who reviews shall be receiving sugar quills!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ** Despite the fact that I have taken an insane amount of time to update, that does not mean that I am JK Rowling. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter, I am merely a devoted fan writing fan fiction.

**A/N: **Please don't hate me! I know this update took waaaaayyyyy too long, but in addition to writer's block I've had a lot of work to do in real life, so I simply haven't had time to work on the fic. I have however finally finished chapter 3, and I hope you all aren't too mad at me to stop reading. A great big thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 2! (Sorry I didn't write more individual responces, but it was either this, or delay the update even longer, I figured everyone would be happier with this.)

_TSKers _– Ahhh! It's you! I know, I know I'll try to update fast next time I promise. But I'm glad you like it anyway :D  
_elektra30, undercovervampire, xoKaSsIeox, Chantal J and sam, dancerfreak1991, sunflower18, mysteriouscharm, anIme-prYncess, FallenThrough, I wish your heart was mine, zuvalupa_ – thank you for the reviews, I hope you all like this chapter too!  
_Clear Black Glass _– lol yup, Voldemort is indeed still alive. I never thought about how the people in Auror training would react to Harry, they probably are a bit awed, but they get over it once they get to know him. And yes, I'm American, why do you ask? (if you don't mind my asking lol) Anyway, thanks for the review!  
_Hogwartsboyzrhot_ – thanks so much! I'm sorry the update took so long, but I'm happy you like it and I hope you like this chapter too!  
_Piper_ – lol yup, Michael might be trouble, but I won't tell you what I have planned. Hope school's going well for you! Thanks for the review!  
_Steelo_ – No worries, Draco will be back soon ;o) I'm sorry this update took so long, but I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you like this one too. Thanks for the review!

Now, finally, it's time for chapter 3!

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* * *

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**Chapter 3: The Order and Australia**

Hermione, Ron and Harry returned to Grimmauld Place once their auror class was finished. Hermione had spent the remainder of the class unusually focused on whatever it was Kingsley was saying so that she wouldn't have to look at the other trainees, Michael in particular who had shot her a couple of curious looks in the meeting room.

Once back home, they were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Lupin, Tonks, and much to their surprise, Dumbledore. Everyone, except Dumbledore, immediately began bombarding them with questions about their first day of training. All the while, Dumbledore stood surveying them with a proud smile. After about 15 minutes, he politely interrupted the conversation. Everyone went silent and focused their attention on him.

"I want to congratulate you three for a successful first day, I am sure you will all succeed marvelously. However now, I must bring your attention to another matter. You are now all of legal age to join the Order of the Phoenix if you so wish. You three have already proven yourselves more than capable of dealing with the sort of tasks required of Order members. So, as they say, 'there is no time like the present!' Have you all decided to become full fledged members of the Order of the Phoenix?"

Harry nodded immediately; he had been eagerly waiting for this day ever since he'd first learned of the Order of the Phoenix, Ron, following Harry's lead nodded as well. Hermione however suddenly felt as though she had been hit in the chest by a ton of bricks. Her windpipe seemed to have closed, and for a moment she could not breathe.

This was so sudden and unexpected. Sure, she had planned on joining the Order, but she had never thought the time would come so quickly, she hadn't had time to mentally prepare herself. However, the room was now filled with a heavy silence, and Dumbledore's light blue eyes were twinkling at her reassuringly and expectantly, so she nodded.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together, "excellent! Now all we need to do is have you take the pledge, and add your name to the member list, and we'll be set! So, if you would all please raise your right hand."

Hermione Ron and Harry each raised the proper hand.

"Now, repeat after me, I hereby pledge my service to the Order of the Phoenix."

They repeated Dumbledore's words.

"As a member, I am dedicating myself to work against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters . . ."

An image of the Death Eater gathering Hermione had been forced to attend last year formed in her head. She could see Voldemort's blood red eyes and then the Mark on Draco's forearm passed, and her resolve to join the Order strengthened.

"in hopes to one day bring peace to the world. . ."

If she helped destroy Voldemort and the Death Eaters then she and Draco could finally be together in peace.

"I vow to never betray the Order's secrets . . ."

A knot in her chest instantly tightened as she repeated those words, she would never be able to tell Draco anything related to the Order, but wouldn't that in turn be betraying his trust?

"to anyone who is not already a member . . ."

Hermione stood tight-lipped, and with a great deal of effort, finished the pledge, suddenly her heart was pounding and she felt emotionally exhausted.

"Now, I need you all to sign your names here, and then it will be official." Dumbledore procured a scroll of parchment out of thin air and unrolled it to reveal the list of Order Members. There were quite a few more than any of them had ever realized. After Harry and Ron signed, Hermione stepped forward and got a closer look at the scroll, she felt a lump rise into her throat when she read some of the names up close. Because several of them were crossed off, and next to the names was their reason for death, nearly all of which involved duties to the Order. Hermione tried her best to fight the rising sensation of unease in her throat, and she was visibly hesitant to sign the scroll. However, since she had already taken the pledge, there was no turning back now. With a deep breath, she touched the quill to the paper and signed her name. As she placed the quill down on the table and watched Dumbledore make the scroll disappear, she had the frightening sensation that she had just signed her soul away, and there was no getting it back now.

The rest of the evening passed in a blur for Hermione, though thankfully no one seemed to notice that she was feeling a bit off. But as she lay in her room that night, she found herself unable to sleep. Somehow, her always active mind had begun comparing the oath she had taken that night to the one Draco had been forced to take last year with the Death Eaters. When it came right down to it, were they really all that different? After all, both groups required their members to possibly give their lives in order to reach a goal. Of course, the Order wasn't looking to kill people, and they did not brand you, and the Order really was only trying to maintain peace . . .

Ok, so they were very different, and she wanted to be an Order member. She was just nervous because she hadn't had time to prepare herself. Yes, that had to be it. She turned to her side and pulled the sheets closer to her, she desperately wished that Draco were there to hold her and kiss away all her fears. But then her brain kicked in yet again and she realized that it was probably better that he wasn't with her right now. He would not be able to comfort her because she was not allowed to tell him anything regarding the choice she had made that night. Those thoughts brought a single salty tear to her eye; it rolled down her cheek and landed on the pillow. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to keep what she'd just done from him, but he was not an Order member, nor was he ever going to be one, so she would never be able to tell him.

As she finally drifted off to sleep, the week she'd spent at Draco's which in fact was only a couple days in the past, now felt ages away. And the worst part was that she knew that things were only going to get harder. She only hoped that she'd be able to figure out a way to deal with them before she saw Draco again. A part of her even hoped that that time would not come quickly; because first she needed time to think.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Draco spent about two weeks in Italy before he grew too restless to stay any longer. He had visited the sites in Rome, and was vaguely interested about the gory gladiator fights that took place in the ancient Roman Colosseum. But one could only be interested in the sights and history for too long (unless that one was Hermione of course, who could have probably spent a lifetime learning about everything Rome had to offer). Draco decided that perhaps this was too familiar, he'd been here before, and even though he had visited individual sights that he'd never been to before, he still felt like he'd seen it all before, and he was growing restless.

"Mimi!" he called to his house-elf one early morning in the middle of his third week in Italy.

"Yes sir Master Draco sir," Mimi rushed in an bowed.

"We're leaving today."

"Is we going going home sir?" Mimi asked in a hopeful tone.

"No," Draco answered curtly.

Mimi looked upon her master, with a concerned frown, "is you sure Master Draco? You is seeming very unhappy away from home sir. Isn't you wanting to see Miss Herminey again sir?"

Draco's jaw tightened at the mention of Hermione, "We're not going home Mimi," he repeated coldly.

The house-elf knew not to argue with her Master when he spoke like that. She had already been daring enough by trying to convince him to go home, she was not going to push it. In fact she considered herself lucky that he hadn't yelled at her for questioning him. "Where is we going sir? Spain, Germany? Master Draco always loved going to France."

Draco interrupted, "no Mimi, we're not going to any of those places, we're going somewhere we've never been."

"Really Master Draco? Where is we going?" Mimi attempted to sound excited, although she was really just frightened.

"Well, I said that I wanted to travel the world to get away, and you can't get much further away than Australia, so we're going there." Traveling to Australia had been something that Draco had been considering for about a week, and the more he thought about it, the more appealing the thought seemed.

The house-elf's tennis ball shaped eyes grew even wider with fear, "but Master Draco, that place sir, that is very far away sir. Is Master sure he isn't wanting to go somewhere else?"

A mischievous smile crossed Draco's face, the fact that his house-elf was scared only made him more eager to go. He didn't even know where the idea had come from originally, but he was definitely glad he'd thought of it. It was certainly not anything he'd thought about before, not consciously at least. "We're going to Australia, and we're leaving in half an hour, I'm going to get ready, and you will pack my things."

"Yes sir," Mimi did her best to hide her whimper as she bowed and left to carry out her orders. In truth, Mimi was terrified of traveling so far away over so much water, she did not know how to swim, and she much preferred the comforts and usual duties at the Manor than to traveling. But she lived to serve, and her young Master seemed to need her more than ever, so she was ready to follow him to the end of the world (which is basically what she would be doing when they left for the land Down Under). It was not that Draco had confided anything to her about what he was feeling, he never did, but she had cared for him all his life, and she could read him more than he knew. Her master was not happy, Mimi knew that her master wanted his Herminey, but Master Draco did not seem to want to acknowledge that.

Within 25 minutes, Mimi had all of Draco's things packed, and Draco had showered and eaten breakfast. Before gathering Mimi, Draco tapped on Aries cage to wake the eagle owl up. Aries squawked with a bit of annoyance, but looked at Draco attentively anyhow. "Mimi and I are going to Australia, so I think it's best for you to go back home and wait for us there, alright?"

Aries clicked his beak and climbed onto Draco's arm. Draco carried the owl outside, and allowed him to fly off. After that he stepped back inside the house and found Mimi in the entryway. "Is everything ready Mimi?"

"Yes Mater Draco," Mimi squeaked as she shoved Draco's trunk in front of her towards the door.

Draco shrunk the trunk and stuck it in his pocket.

"How is we getting there Master Draco?" the fear was clear in her voice, though she did not argue Draco's choice.

"We have to go to the Italian Minisrty office in Rome, and from there we'll apparate," answered Draco as he strode out the door.

"But Master Draco, why is we needing to go to the Ministry if we is apparating?"

"Because," Draco said as he strode purposely down the street, Mimi jogging at his side to keep up, "I don't know where the best apparation point is in Australia, so I need to go to the Wizarding Transportation office."

At the Italian Ministry, Draco made arrangements for a place to stay in Sydney. Then once he'd gotten everything settled at the Italian Ministry, he and Mimi apparated to the Australian Ministry. He barely had time to overcome the dizzying feeling of apparating so far when an Australian Ministry official came rushing up to him.

"G'day!" she greeted with a cheerful smile, "and you must be Mr. Malfoy, coming in from Rome."

"Yes that's me," answered Draco, opening his eyes and forcing them to focus and not to concentrate on the room spinning.

The Ministry witch seemed to have noticed Draco's discomfort, for she let out a cheery laugh, "no worries mate, the dizziness will wear off in a couple minutes. In the meantime, I am supposed to direct you to where you'll be staying." The witch led Draco over to a nearby counter, poor Mimi had to grab hold of Draco's robes to prevent herself from falling flat on the floor she was so dizzy.

Draco steadied himself on the counter while the Ministry witch went around to the back. By the time she spoke again, the wooziness in his head had cleared, and he was able to see appropriately. "Now," said the witch, "Here's a map of Sydney, the magical sections are clearly marked." The witch pointed to one of the magical areas, which was outlined in a shimmering blue line. "And here's how you get to your hotel," the witch tapped the map, and a shimmering gold line appeared, highlighting the route to the hotel. "And I think you'll find some lovely restaurants along the way in case you're hungry. Is there anything else I can help you with before you leave?"

Draco nodded at the witches instructions, and glanced at his watch when she mentioned food, but he was still on Italy time, "no nothing else thanks, except could you tell me the time?"

The Ministry witch laughed, "of course," she checked her own watch, "It's 5:07 pm. Is that all?"

Draco adjusted his own watch, then looked back up at the witch and shook his head. "Yes, that's all, thank you."

"Of course, have a wonderful stay in Sydney! And if you have any questions, feel free to come back here, and ask for Chelsea."

"I'll be sure to remember that, thank you for your help Chelsea."

Chelsea nodded, and watched the hot young British man with an approving smile as he strode all the way out of the room.

Once outside, Draco opened up the map and memorized the directions to get to the hotel. He then folded up the map and slipped it into his pocket. He glanced down at Mimi, who looked both frightened and awed at the same time, and then he started on his way with her trotting at his heels. Draco immediately noticed how beautiful the city was. Unlike any other city he'd been to, Sydney had parks and gardens that flowed perfectly along with the usual buildings and streets which usually belonged in a city.

It took no time at all for Draco to locate his hotel, it was a thin, but tall building hidden amongst the muggle buildings much in the same way that the Leaky Cauldron was hidden from the muggle buildings back home in London. Draco had rented the penthouse room at the very top simply because it was the most expensive, and therefore must be the best.

And the best it was indeed. His room was more like a large flat. It had three full sized bedrooms, each with their own bath, a huge living room area, a dining area, and a complete kitchen. The walls were decorated with wizarding paintings, mostly of native Australian animals, all of which were moving around in their frames, and curiously viewing the suites new occupant. But by far, the best attribute of this suite was the spectacular view. Draco could see the whole harbor from his room, including the bridge and the opera house. The sun was beginning to set, and it was truly the most spectacular site he'd ever witnessed in his life. He felt like he could be at peace here, like everything here was beautiful and perfect (not to mention far away from all his troubles back home). For the first time since he'd last seen Hermione, he truly smiled.

After magically enlarging and unpacking his trunk in the master bedroom, Draco headed out to the magical section of Sydney for dinner. He was a bit thrown off by the time difference, since it was eight hours later here than it had been in Rome, but he'd get over that quick enough. The restaurant he chose was small but classy. He was not oblivious to the curious looks he got while eating alone, nor did he miss the group of girls sitting a few tables away who seemed to be trying to catch his eye. It reminded him of the girls at Hogwarts, which in turn once again brought Hermione to the forefront of his mind. They wouldn't be watching him if she was here with him. He scowled at that thought. How the hell was he supposed to find anything while he was away if his stubborn mind was always back there with her?

Draco finished his dinner in a bit of a rush, and then decided to take a walk outside in the fresh air to calm his nerves. Thankfully enough, the city of Sydney did serve to calm him, he walked along the Harbor surrounding the Opera House, everything here was so calm, peaceful, and perfect.

In the magical wing of the Opera House, which was invisible and impenetrable to muggles, Draco read an announcement saying that there was a performance scheduled for the next night, so with a shrug of his shoulders he decided he'd come back then and see what it was all about. By the time Draco had left the Opera House, the sun had finished setting, so he skipped the sight seeing in favor of returning to his hotel. He thought about writing a letter to Hermione, but upon consideration figured that it would be best to wait a while until he had things to tell her about Australia. Since it was so far away from home, he probably wouldn't be able to write more than one letter to her while he was here anyway. With thoughts of Hermione again consuming his conscience, he took a long relaxing bath, complete with bubbles and magical jets.

He nearly fell asleep in the soothing warmth of the water and the delicious smell of the bubbles, but he managed to keep himself awake and then he made his way to bed. He wasn't particularly tired since his body clock was still on Italian time, but he knew if he had any hope of enjoying himself here, he'd have to readjust as soon as possible. He turned on his side, closed his eyes, and forced himself to sleep.

Draco was unsurprised when he awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning, but he was not at all disappointed that he did. The sunrise over the harbor that greeted him outside his window was purely dazzling. Draco dressed, and decided to go for a walk in the brisk chilly air; he was a bit cold since he'd forgotten that it was winter in Australia and he'd left his cloak back in the room. For the most part, he didn't mind the cold, except that his pale cheeks were a little pink from the air.

While in Sydney, Draco went to a performance at the Opera House, he visited a zoo, and a museum, he took a walk along the harbor every morning just to see the sunrise. He loved it all, but still felt empty somehow. It wasn't until he had been there for about a week that it hit him. He was taking one of his early morning walks, the sun was still below the bridge, and colors filled the early morning sky, when all of a sudden a thought popped into his head, 'Hermione would love it here.' He was a bit surprised by it, not because it was a thought about Hermione, he thought about her all the time. But what surprised him was the door that thought seemed to open in his mind that led to other thoughts.

That was it, no matter how perfect everything should have been, it was no match to how he felt when he was with Hermione. He missed her, and he needed her. Cutting his walk short, he abruptly spun on his heel and charged back to his hotel room. Once there, he settled at a desk and wrote a letter to her. He kept his letter light-hearted, what he was feeling now were things he'd rather express to her in person and in private.

After finishing the letter, he gathered his things and Mimi and set off for the post to send his letter. As eager as he was to go home and see Hermione, he also wanted to visit a couple other places in northern Australia before he left. Ever since he'd arrived he'd been thinking that he might like to buy a house here, and he wanted to choose the best area before he made a decision. Sydney was lovely, but he'd also heard that Cairns was equally amazing, so he wanted to check it out for himself. Having sent the letter, and knowing that he would be going home in a couple weeks and would be seeing Hermione again put Draco in a definite good mood.

- - - - - - - - - -

Over the next few weeks after Hermione, Harry and Ron were initiated into the Order the auror training proceeded pretty much as any other class begins, with a lot of reading. The ministry seemed to think along the same lines as Hermione in that if the trainees knew all the theory and history behind everything it takes to be an auror, then the practical work would come easier. While this course of action was no problem for Hermione, it annoyed Harry and Ron to no end. They were both very eager to begin practical training, particularly so they could use it on any Order missions they would have to go on in the future.

In order to make studying more bearable and fun for everyone, the trainees had taken to getting together at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor every Friday after training. They used the time to go over the week's work and enjoy heaping ice cream sundaes at the same time. As time went by, Hermione found herself able to relax more around all the trainees, not just Harry and Ron. But every once in a while she would get the feeling that Michael was flirting with her, and at those times she felt very uncomfortable.

That was how she was feeling now as all the trainees sat around a table outside the ice cream parlor. They were halfway through with their sundaes and the boys had abandoned their conversation about work in favor of discussing some of the hot female Ministry trainees from other departments. Hermione was normally fine with these conversations, even though they did get annoying after a while, the only thing that ever really bothered her were some of the comments that Michael would occasionally make. The other three guys would be talking about how hot the other girls were and then Michael would say something like, 'yeah but none of them compare to Hermione,' and then he would put his hand on her back or on her arm. Hermione tried her best not to be rude, but he made her very uncomfortable, and in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but picture how furious Draco would be if he saw Michael's behavior around her.

Michael now had his hand on Hermione's arm, and Hermione felt her hear begin to race, not in a good way like it did when she was excited, and not in the way that id did when she was around Draco, but in a way that made her very incredibly nervous and edgy. She shifted, and purposely moved her arm away, successfully removing Michael's hand. She could feel him look at her out of the corner of her eye, but she refused to meet his eyes, and was determined not to look as uncomfortable as she felt.

But that was not all that was bothering her, she was a bit worried because it had been over three seeks since Draco's last letter. She'd gotten two letters a week from him while he was in Italy. She supposed that he'd packed up and gone somewhere else, because he hadn't seemed very enthusiastic in his last letter, but he hadn't mentioned that he was leaving either. But still even if he had, why hadn't he sent her another letter? She hadn't realized how much she looked forward to his letters until they stopped coming, she sighed, and felt Michael rest his hand on her back in what she supposed was supposed to be a comforting gesture. She glanced up at him with a blank expression, but instead of focusing on him, her gaze automatically focused on a very brightly colored bird flying straight towards them.

Michael saw the curiosity in her face and he turned around to see what had caught her eye. He managed to duck just in time to avoid being clipped by the letter the bird was carrying before the bird landed in the center of their table. The bird was a mid-sized parrot; it was mostly green with an orange chest, a blue head, and bright orange beak. The parrot seemed to take a look around at everyone before hopping towards Hermione.

Hermione squealed in excitement, a noise that caused Michael and Toby to stare at her in shock, and Harry and Ron to roll their eyes. "What's that?" Michael asked.

"It must be a letter from Draco," Hermione said fumbling while trying to remove Draco's letter because her hands were shaking so much with excitement. "He must be somewhere really far away now to use a bird like this instead of his owl." The parrot squawked as if it knew Hermione was talking about it. It was patient with Hermione's shaky hands, and seemed as curious in its surroundings as the five people at the table were in it. Finally, Hermione managed to remove the letter, but the parrot did not leave right away, instead it seemed rather content to sit down and stick around for a while.

Hermione pushed her glass of water towards the parrot, and the bird eagerly plunged it's beak inside and began gulping down the water; clearly it was exhausted after such a long journey. Hermione meanwhile unfolded the letter and speedily read it through;

_Hermione,_

_G'day from the Land Down Under! Alright, now that I've made a fool of myself… I apologize ahead of time for this letter taking so long to get to you, but as you may have already guessed, I'm in Australia and it's quite a long flight back home from here, so I hope you'll understand._

Hermione gasped after the first line.

"What is it?" Harry asked. He and Ron had agreed that it was no use fighting Hermione's relationship with Malfoy any longer, so they tried to be mildly interested in these letters for Hermione's sake.

"He's in Australia," Hermione said without taking her eyes off the letter.

_It's beautiful here Hermione, everything's so peaceful and perfect. I've seen loads of stuff too, the Opera House is amazing, and I even saw a performance there. The view from my hotel room is breathtaking. I'm thinking about buying a place somewhere down here, although I want to visit Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef before I decide where I like best. That's where I'm going right after I send this letter off to you. _

_I'm sure you would love it down here. There's so much to learn, and a ton of really weird magical creatures that only live here. And you'd probably love to hear about the wizarding history that's here. The magical myths that the people believed down here are really fascinating. For example, did you know that the Aboriginal people believed that a rainbow serpent created them? I found that to be a particularly interesting tidbit._

Hermione laughed again, of course the former 'Prince of Slytherin' would find any myths about a serpent to be interesting.

_I'm not sure how long this parrot will take to find you, but if the international post estimate is correct, it should take about two weeks, which means I'll probably be gone before a letter will reach me here. I think I'll be returning home after this, traveling the world alone just isn't as enlightening or fun as I thought it would be. I miss you terribly, and I'll send a post as soon as I get back. I hope auror training is going well, as I'm certain it is. I can't wait to see you again._

_Love,_

_Draco_

Hermione squealed again when she read that Draco would be coming back, she couldn't wait to see him again. Upon reading his letter, the hole in her heart that his absence had brought seemed to increase by ten times, she felt tears begin to prick at the corners of her eyes. Though whether these were tears of sadness for missing him, or tears of happiness for knowing he was alright and coming back, she could not say for sure. She guessed they were probably a mixture of both.

The boys, who had retuned to their conversation, stopped again when Hermione squealed for a second time that afternoon. "What now?" asked Ron with a touch of impatience.

"He's coming back, and this letter was written a while ago, so he could be on his way back now!" cried Hermione. She was overflowing with excitement, though she subdued herself when she looked around and was reminded that none of the guys would share her excitement over this wonderful news. She rolled her eyes at the whole lot of them, "never mind, just go back to whatever you were talking about."

The guys did as she suggested, and Hermione reread Draco's letter a couple times. She had a the eager desire to write a response, but Draco had said it wouldn't reach him until after he'd left, and if that was the case, he was likely to have already returned and sent another letter to her before her response got to him, so she resisted the urge.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco spent two more weeks in Australia before finally heading home. He had completely fallen in love with the whole east coast of Australia, and he knew he was going to return, but next time he would be sure to bring Hermione. He had been thinking about her non stop since he'd left Sydney, and once he arrived in Cairns, he bought her a bunch of presents.

First he bought her a large book about Australian magical history. He knew she'd enjoy that, but it wasn't enough for him. He also bought her two miniature animals, a koala and a kangaroo, both of which had long lasting spells on them which would make them behave like their real-life counterparts. The kangaroo amused Draco because it bounced all around nonstop. He personally found the koala rather boring, all it did was hang onto stuff, but he noticed that every girl he'd seen who saw one all shared the same reaction thinking it was the sweetest animal in the world. And he had to admit that it was really soft, so he figured Hermione would like to pet it.

He had also gotten her one more gift, which was much more expensive than the others, although that one he was not going to give to her right away. He wanted to wait for the right time to give it to her. Originally he had packed it away in his trunk; however it didn't feel right leaving it there so instead he carried it in a box inside his pocket so he'd always have it with him, a constant reminder of Hermione.

He fingered the box inside his pocket as he and Mimi stood waiting to be given clearance to apparate back home. "Master Draco," squeaked Mimi, who was sounding rather ill, "Mimi is thinking that apparating all the way back home is too tiring for Master today. Isn't you wanting to apparate a shorter distance Master Draco?"

Draco took his attention away from thoughts of Hermione long enough to answer Mimi. He knew that she was only trying to get him to apparate short distances because she hated the queasy feeling that long journeys gave her, but he was eager to get home, and nothing, especially not a house-elf was going to slow him down now. "No Mimi, we're only apparating once, and if you really feel that ill when we get back, then you can just spend the rest of the day in bed at the Manor."

"Yes sir Master Draco," Mimi managed to squeak through a frightened sob.

"Mr. Malfoy?" an Australian Magical Transportation official said as he read Draco's name off a list. "Step right this way please." The man directed Draco to an area which was roped off for apparation purposes. "You will be apparating to England is that correct sir?"

Draco nodded as he stepped forward, pulling a reluctant Mimi along with him.

"Alright, well, you're all set, have a safe trip and I hope you've enjoyed your stay in Australia," said the man with a polite smile.

"I did thank you," replied Draco. Without another word, Draco closed his eyes, focused on the front steps of the Manor, and with a pop, apparated out of Australia.

Several moments later, at the Malfoy Manor back in England, Draco and Mimi appeared with another loud pop. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Draco instinctively reached out for the door to steady himself. Mimi however fell flat on her face with a loud groan. Draco unlocked his door and with shaky steps entered his home. Once inside, he stopped walking and closed his eyes until his head seemed to have stopped spinning. While his eyes were closed, his ears detected the sound of pattering elf feet drawing closer, he opened his eyes and saw two house elves standing in front of him bowing to the floor.

"Master Draco!" cried the taller elf, "we is all so glad you is home sir! We is missing you and Mimi very much sir."

"That's great, you can bring my things to be cleaned and put away," Draco removed his trunk from his pocket and restored it to its original size.

The elf who had spoken bowed again and immediately got to work, he seemed truly thankful to have something to do.

"And you," Draco said to the other elf, "take Mimi down to the elves quarters and give her something for her stomach, then she is allowed to sleep until she recovers."

"Yes sir Master Draco sir, is you needing anything else sir?" the elf squeaked in an even higher pitched voice than is usual for a house elf.

"Not right now," Draco muttered.

The elf bowed, and then began tending to Mimi. Draco left the two elves in the entry hall while he made his way to the study. He had left Cairns shortly after 9am, but that meant that it was now passed midnight here. He wasn't sure if Aries would have enough time to find Hermione and deliver a note in time for the morning post, but he figured it was worth a shot. He sat down in the study, and penned a short note to her letting her know that he was back home and telling her that he wanted to see her as soon as possible.

Once he was finished, he journeyed outside to the grounds on the Manor in search of Aries. The owl happened to be just outside the Owl house, he was munching on what appeared to have at one point been a large rat. "Enjoying your meal?" Draco asked as he stepped towards the owl.

Aries looked up at him with and interested gaze, and then hooted as if to answer his question.

"Would you mind leaving that to deliver a letter to Hermione for me?"

Aries looked down at his half-eaten meal, and then back up at Draco.

"I promise you'll get a whole pile of treats when you get back if you do," Draco offered.

That seemed to be enough motivation for Aries, for he spread his wings and glided up to Draco's shoulder. Draco smirked and tied the letter to Aries' leg. "Thanks mate, let her know I miss her alright? And wait for her to respond before you leave."

Aries clicked his beak in confirmation, and then took off into the night.

As Draco watched his owl fly off, he shouted at him, "and feel free to bite Potter or Weasley if you want! Especially Weasley!" Draco smirked as he returned to the interior of the Manor. He was inexplicably restless. He could not wait for Hermione's response but he knew that it would not come until later in the day, or maybe not even until tomorrow depending on when she had time to write a response.

Draco sighed and took to wandering the Manor aimlessly. He knew that he should try to get to sleep to get his body functioning in the correct time zone again, but he simply wasn't in the mood to try to go to sleep, there was far too much on his mind, not to mention an odd prickling sensation on his left arm.

* * *

Well, there you have it. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear what everyone thinks. By the way, for those of you who are not familiar with cities in Australia, the way I described Sydney is based on my own reactions to the city. And Cairns is pronounced 'cans', I know, I thought it was weird when I first learned that too, but oh well.

For those of you who commented about Michael at the end of last chapter, there will be more from him coming up, as well as some more of our heros Draco & Hermione of course. Thank you for reading and I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ** Despite the fact that I have taken an insane amount of time to update, that does not mean that I am JK Rowling. Therefore, I do not own Harry Potter, I am merely a devoted fan writing fan fiction.

**A/N: **I hope you all can forgive me for taking so long to update yet again. Between school projects (including producing a student film), and hurricanes I have barely had time to think about my fic let alone write it and update it. So again I apologize, and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. It's still hard cause we haven't hit the main plot yet, so I hope everyone still enjoys it. As always, I want to extend a great big thank you to everyone who has reviewed:

_Femke, Tryix_ – Thank you! I'm very happy to hear that you guys liked my other fics, and that you're enjoying this one so far too!  
_Queen of Whatever, pegasusbabi, emily faerie, zuvalupa, piper, Modaprincesa, the mask he wears, midnightwanderer01, sunflower18, FallenTrough, steelo_ – Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter!  
_TSKers_ – yup, a good poke from you was all it took. I'm glad you liked the stuff about Draco's travels. You're find out about the Dark Mark thing in this chapter, but the 'special gift' will have to wait til later. I hope you like the chapter, and thanks so much for the review!  
_Clear Black Glass _– no by all means hate Michael, he's horrible, he's trying to steal Hermione from Draco! Lol and yeah I try to make my writing sound as British as possible, since obviously all the characters are British, so I try to use the appropriate slang whenever possible. I'm glad to hear it's working! Thanks for the review!  
_elektra30_ – I know, it's frustrating to wait to long for a chapter with so little plot content (I'm guessing you'll feel the same way towards this one. I hope you like it anyway, and I'm trying my best to speed up updates, and to get to the real plot ASAP. Thanks for the review!

Now onto chapter 4!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Reunited**

Draco found it surprisingly difficult to sleep that night, and not only for the fact that he wasn't tired. No, it was something else which kept him awake, staring at the dark ceiling of his room. He wished he could convince himself that his inability to sleep was due to his excitement about seeing Hermione the next day, but he knew that was not the case. Nope, his sleeplessness was definitely due to something else, something that he could not place, and something that he could sense that he did not like.

He was about to get up and have the house-elves fix him a late night snack when the cause of his unease suddenly hit. All at once an intense burning sensation engulfed his left forearm. Draco clutched his arm and grit his teeth until the burning subsided. The Dark Lord had called the Death Eaters and now Draco had a strong, foreign urge to apparate to the meeting. Somehow he knew exactly where the Dark Lord was, but he would not come to him. He was able to resist the temptation, knowing full well that it was merely a result of the magic he had been branded with when he had been given the Mark.

He returned to his bed, seeking the warmth and comfort of the expensive linens. But now he lay awake for an entirely different reason. The Dark Lord was meeting with the Death Eaters. That meant that he was planning something. But what was he planning this time? And even more importantly in Draco's mind, did this plan involve him in any way?

Draco lifted his sleeve and sent a hate-filled glare at the Dark Mark. It was already fading back to the red color of blood, but Draco knew that just moments ago, when it hard burned, it had been completely black. Draco threw his sleeve back down to hide the repulsive Mark, but that did not remove the knowledge that it was there, nor did it do anything to ease the hatred Draco felt boiling inside his veins.

Draco remained laying there with his eyes open staring at nothing, and thinking of everything and nothing at the same time until dawn when he finally drifted off to sleep. He did not dream that night. It was almost as if his thoughts had left him too exhausted to think any longer, even in the world of dreams.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione was down in the kitchen eating breakfast with Harry and Ron when a small flapping of wings signaled the morning's post. Hermione dropped her fork on her plate and looked up, but it was only the owl delivering the Daily Prophet. She sighed as she took the paper and paid the owl. It had been nearly a week since the parrot had delivered Draco's letter from Australia, and Hermione had been eagerly awaiting each morning's post for word that Draco was back home. She was so sure she would have heard from him by now, but unfortunately there was no such luck.

After an uneventful breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Hermione apparated into the Ministry and smiled at the security wizard who by now recognized all of the trainees. He greeted them with a friendly smile and a nod as they walked passed the desk to their usual meeting room. They arrived earlier than Michael and Toby, but they found the meeting room empty. Within a few moments, the doors opened and Michael entered, "hey guys," he said with a cheery wave.

"Hey," the three chorused in response.

Kingsley didn't arrive until training was to begin, and they began the class with the usual lecture, this time discussing the more dangerous spells they might encounter in their work as aurors.

"Now, I'm assuming you're all aware of the three infamous unforgivable curses." Kingsley began. The trainees nodded in response. "Would one of you be kind enough to remind everyone what those curses are and what they do?"

Everyone raised their hands, and Kingsley chose Michael to answer the question. Michael recited his answer perfectly as if he were quoting straight from a textbook. Kingsley nodded in approval. "Very good, that is of course correct, the most infamous and illegal cures are Cruciatus, Imperius, and Avada Kedavra. But those are not the only curses with potential to kill that you may be facing. There has been another curse invented rather recently that is at the moment not widely known but just as deadly as Avada Kedavra, and one would imagine, just as painful as Cruciatus. Can anyone tell me what that curse is?"

The boys all looked at each other, racking their brains for any other known curse with the intent to kill, Harry and Ron looked to Hermione, expecting to see her looking just as lost as well, but instead they saw her staring at Kingsley stone faced.

Immediately, Hermione had thought of the curse Lucius had tried to hit her with two years ago. The memories came back haunting her like a gruesome nightmare. She took no notice that all eyes were on her, but she did manage to push the memories back and prevent her emotions for taking over. She lifted her head, and Kingsley looked back at her with a kind expression, as if he knew what she was thinking. Michael and Toby were looking from Hermione to the other boys with confusion in their faces, but Harry and Ron were staring at Hermione, comprehension slowly dawning on their faces as they realized what she must have been thinking about.

Finally, as if in slow motion, Hermione's hand went up for the second time. "Yes Hermione?" Kingsley said in a deep comforting voice.

"Glacio Exanimus," she said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Kingsley nodded, "can you tell us what the Glacio Exanimus curse does?"

Hermione cleared her throat and spoke in a louder, more confident tone, "It's the frozen death spell. It slowly freezes your body from the inside, turning everything to ice and thereby killing the victim. There's only one possible cure and that's the revival drought, but it has to be administered immediately, and even then there's no guarantee." As soon as she closed her mouth, her throat went dry, and she felt short of breath.

"Excellent Hermione," Kingsley congratulated, he knew why she was wearing that pained expression. He did not enjoy forcing her back to such a painful experience, but it was necessary to understand what they would be dealing with, and that meant discussing everything. "This is one of many reasons why to be an auror you have to be able to do more than just produce good spell work. Sometimes, the only protection you have against the Dark Arts is the ability to quickly and correctly brew the proper potion."

Harry and Ron groaned softly, they still hated potions, even when Snape wasn't involved.

The rest of the morning's class was much more interesting than all their previous classes because they got to show their stuff. They spent the rest of the morning reviewing all the basic defensive and useful hexes and curses that they were supposed to have mastered already. Harry was clearly the best, followed by Hermione, then Ron. Toby and Michael could perform most of the spells, but they were no where near as skilled as the other three, so Kingsley spent a lot of time getting the two boys up to par with the others.

After a productive morning, morale was running high, but everyone was eager to break for lunch. So, as had become routine, the five trainees ate together in the Ministry restaurant. Toby and Michael couldn't seem to talk enough about how amazing Harry's spell work had been. "I still can't believe you all can produce patronuses already! Where'd you learn to do that?"

Harry, Ron , and Hermione sent each other mischievous glances, "just something we picked up during our free time at school." Harry said finally.

"Right," Toby said suspiciously, "I'm sure you just 'picked it up'." It was clear that both he and Michael knew there was some bigger story behind where the other three had learned some of the more complicated spells, but they didn't bother to ask for clarification, Michael had another story on his mind.

"Hey Hermione, what's the story behind that Frozen Death spell we learned about this morning, you almost looked like someone had cast it on you in the middle of class!" Michael chuckled at his own joke, along with Toby. But Hermione, Harry and Ron glared at him, Hermione looking especially mortified had dropped her fork on her plate.

"Hey mate, don't joke about shit like that, it's not funny," Harry said seriously coming to Hermione's rescue. Ron meanwhile immediately rubbed his hand against her back in a completely chaste gesture of comfort. But Hermione made no motion to show acknowledge either of them, she was staring down at the table without seeing, trying to force the memories from her brain; a task which would have been made much easier if she had seen Draco anytime recently.

Michael's smile turned to a frown, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. But seriously, what's the deal with it?"

Hermione frowned and stared at her half finished meal with absolutely no appetite any longer. Michael rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, but it only served to make Hermione angry. How dare this idiot try to comfort her when he had no clue what she was feeling? How dare he attempt to compete with Draco, how dare he think that she would ever flirt back with him after all she and Draco had been through together!

Her eyebrows furrowed together, but before she had time to push him away, there was a loud squawk followed by a flurry of wings and a cry of pain. Michael jerked his arm back and cried out as the eagle owl's talons sank deep into his upper arm. "What the fuck!" he yelled before he had time to stop himself.

Aries landed on Hermione's shoulder and glared at Michael clicking its beak and squawking furiously as if threatening him to come closer. Hermione, shrieked with glee at the sight of Aries, "Aries! Have you come to tell me that Draco's back home?"

Aries turned his head to Hermione and hooted softly as if to say 'yes'.

Hermione was so excited that she had trouble untying the letter and tearing it open.

_Hermione,_

_I'm home! It's good to be back. Well ok, maybe not so much since I still haven't seen you. Not to mention the fact that it's nearly 1am right now, and I feel like it's 10am since that's what time it is Down Under, but at least now I'm nearer to you. I hope this letter gets to you in the morning post, but who knows what Aries will do on the trip there since I have to interrupt his hunting to get him to deliver it. Either way, I'm planning on coming down to the Ministry this afternoon because I can't wait any longer to see you again._

_Love,_

_Draco_

As Hermione was reading her note, Harry and Ron, who usually hated these visits from Malfoy's owl couldn't help but burst out laughing, "looks like Malfoy's owl doesn't like you touching his owner's girlfriend," Ron said to Michael once his laughter subsided.

"So _that's_ your boyfriend's owl then," Michael said to Hermione with dislike bordering on hatred etched in his tone.

Hermione responded with an "uh huh," but kept her sparkling eyes on the letter with a wide smile on her face.

"So I'm guessing this means he's back now," Harry made an attempt at conversation, while doing his best to hide his dislike for Malfoy.

Hermione looked up, the happiness in her face was unmistakable, and it couldn't help but make Harry smile as well. "Yeah he's back," she answered, "and he's going to come by here this afternoon once training is over!"

"Oh goody," responded Harry in sarcastic, yet amused voice.

"Oh stop it, I haven't said a word about him since he's been gone unless one of these owls came, so don't you be getting on my case now," Hermione argued.

Harry chuckled and held up his hands as if to back away in defeat, "You're right, you've been good, I won't say another word."

"Thank you," Hermione smiled, relieved that her friends were finally really accepting of her and Draco. Aries then decided that he had been ignored long enough, so he nipped affectionately on Hermione's ear. Hermione giggled, and turned towards the bird. "What do you want?" she asked.

Aries hopped down to the table and stared up at her expectantly, hooting softly.

"Draco told you to wait for a response didn't he?"

Aries hooted again and fluffed his feathers.

"Alright then," Hermione whipped out a quill, and wrote a response on the back of Draco's note:

_Draco,_

_I can't wait to see you! And I'm so glad you got home safely, I was really starting to wonder what happened to you after your last letter. You'll have to tell me all about the rest of your trip, it sounded wonderful. I'll stop there since we've got to get back to training, but now I'm not going to be able to concentrate, and we're doing practical work today! No matter, I love you so much and I can't wait to see you again!_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

"Alright," Hermione folded the letter and tied it to Aries leg. "There you go." For a moment Aries didn't seem to have heard Hermione, he was staring at Michael, and Hermione had the impression that if he could, he would be sneering. She chuckled to herself at the idea that Aries was so much like Draco, and it made her feel good to know that both of them were so protective of her. Hermione stroked Aries head to get his attention. "Bring that back to Draco for me alright?" Aries lightly nipped Hermione's finger in response, then spread his wings and flew away, straight at Michael's head.

Michael ducked out of the way, but still felt the owl's talons brush against his head. "Damn bird," Michael said as soon as Aries had flown away.

Hermione rolled her eyes and giggled, and the other three boys started laughing again.

"Seriously, it's not funny, the damn thing ripped straight through my robes and my shirt! It probably even cut through the skin!" Michael contorted himself to examine his injuries, "it did! I'll kill that thing if I have see it again."

Ron snorted then leaned over to whisper to Harry, "I can't wait to see how he reacts to Malfoy if he's this sore about the bird!"

Harry and Ron broke into another fit of laughter. "What did you say to him?" Michael demanded suspiciously. Both Hermione and Toby were viewing the Harry and Ron with interested expressions as well.

This time Harry leaned over to whisper to Ron, "You know, he reminds me of the way you used to act when you still had a crush on her!"

Ron gasped at Harry, "no! Was I really like that?"

This time Hermione laughed along with Harry. She had caught on to what Harry and Ron were talking about, so she took the opportunity to answer, "no Ron, you were much worse."

Harry and Hermione laughed even more, and Ron was turning red with embarrassment, but he joined in on the laughter nonetheless.

"You guys aren't gonna fill us in are you?" Toby asked with a bit of annoyance.

"You really had to be there," answered Harry cryptically.

"Well boys," Hermione began as she stood up, "I believe it's time to get back to work." Hermione's announcement was followed by four reluctant groans, but the boys got up and followed her anyway.

- - - - - - - - - -

For the first time since training began, Hermione was the first one out of the room once they were all finished. She half-hazardly gathered her things, and raced to the Ministry lobby. She saw Draco (or at least his hair) instantly and it was all she could do to stop herself from screaming with joy. His back was to her because he was looking at the huge fountain in the center of the room, apparently reading the inscription at the base.

At first Hermione planned to casually walk up next to him and say something witty, but she couldn't contain herself long enough to walk across the room. Instead she ran straight to him and threw her arms around his neck and bouncing up and down like an overexcited puppy. "Draco!" She cried before he even got a chance to speak, "oh my god, I can't believe it, I've missed you so much."

Draco had been idly examining the fountain as he waited for Hermione. The security wizard had told him that auror training should be ending any moment, so Draco was just hanging out until then. He was thinking about something in the back of his mind, but he couldn't entirely place what it was. It seemed as if something important had happened last night, but he could not seem to recall what it was. His thoughts caused him to frown slightly and furrow his brows, but then he heard something which caused all the unpleasant thought to flee from his brain, and his frown was replaced with a smile. He heard the sound of footsteps running towards him. He instinctively knew who it was, but that still did not give him enough time to brace himself before Hermione collided with him, embracing him tightly around the neck.

Draco stumbled sideways and held onto Hermione's waist to steady himself. He smiled at her, for she was already jabbering away. Draco silenced her the best way he knew how, with a deep long kiss. He held her tighter and lifted her off the ground for a couple seconds, and she wrapped her arms even tighter around his neck. "I missed you too," Draco said once the kiss was broken.

Hermione was glowing with happiness as she and Draco stood there holding each other and staring into each others eyes. She had almost forgotten how amazing it felt to look into his swirling silver eyes, or how protected she felt in his tight embrace.

Draco too, had almost forgotten how loved he felt when she held him, how every problem disappeared when he gazed into her sparkling eyes, and how she somehow made his world absolutely perfect. "I swear you look more beautiful every time I see you," he whispered.

Hermione blushed and smiled, "oh stop it, I look exactly the same as I did when you left."

"No, you always look more beautiful," he assured her before kissing her again.

Hermione hugged him again and seemed at a loss for words. "I missed you so much. Do you think you found what you were looking for while you were gone? Cause I'd hate to have to say good-bye to you again."

"Yes and no." Draco answered, "but you won't have to say good-bye again, I'm not going anywhere without you anymore."

Hermione beamed at him, slight blush forming on her cheeks. "But what do you mean, yes and no?" she asked with a confused expression.

Draco first responded to her question with a light kiss to her forehead. "I realized that what I was looking for I had all along, I just hadn't realized how much I needed it."

Hermione still looked confused, so Draco continued.

"You know, I could travel all over the world a hundred times, but nothing I would see or experience can touch what I feel when I'm with you, and what I see when I look into your eyes. You are all I need Hermione. That's what I found while I was gone."

Hermione was utterly speechless; her eyes began to water at his sweet words because she felt the same way. Nothing seemed completely right unless Draco was near. She smiled and pulled his head to hers in another passion-filled kiss.

Draco held her close after the kiss, and he opened his eyes ready to kiss her again, but he was distracted by the group of guys he saw in the entrance to one of the hallways, one of whom was glaring at him and Hermione. Two of the guys he recognized immediately, Potter and Weasley of course, and they were talking to a third person that Draco did not know. But they were not the ones causing him to narrow his eyes; he tightened his hold on Hermione, but continued to glare suspiciously at the stranger, "who's that?" he asked Hermione.

Hermione cocked her head and turned her head to see what Draco was talking about. She rolled her eyes when she saw Michael, and as soon as she turned, he began walking towards them. "That's Michael," she whispered to Draco, speaking quickly to say everything she wanted before he arrived and overheard. "He's the annoying one I told you about in my letters, the one who's been trying to flirt with me ever since training started. You see those gashes in his robes?" Draco nodded. "Those are from today when Aries caught him touching my shoulder; he swooped down and dug his talons into him."

"Smart owl," Draco chuckled making a mental note to reward Aries when he got home.

"Yeah well, Michael's not very excited to meet you, as you can imagine, but I've been dying for the chance to introduce you to him so he'll lay off." Hermione wrapped her arm around Draco as she turned to face Michael and the other three, who had followed over to where Hermione and Draco were.

Draco had his arm wrapped tightly around Hermione's waist, and when the guys stopped in front of the couple, Draco viewed Michael with narrowed eyes. Suddenly Potter and Weasley didn't seem all that bad by comparison. "Potter, Weasley," he nodded to each of them with a formal expression, yet a hint of acceptance and familiarity was hidden behind his grey eyes.

"Malfoy," they both responded, staring back at him with equally formal expressions.

"Draco," Hermione began the introductions, "this is Michael and Toby, the other two trainees. Guys, this is my boyfriend Draco." She kissed Draco's cheek as if to solidify her point. Draco was still glaring at Michael.

Toby stepped forward and shook Draco's hand, "nice to meet you," he said, though he seemed to be wary of Draco.

"Toby," Draco nodded and returned the handshake, though as soon as it was through he returned his icy glare to Michael.

"So this is the infamous Draco Malfoy," Michael muttered without making an attempt to smile or a move to shake Draco's hand. "I was beginning to think Hermione was just making you up."

Hermione scoffed, and clutched Draco's hand tightly, but Draco smirked. "Well, I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but then I'd be lying." Michael frowned at Draco's words. "But yes, as you so brilliantly noticed, I'm perfectly real," Draco continued, not bothering to hide the sarcasm I his tone.

A few moments of heavy silence followed this statement. Harry, Ron, and Toby kept glancing at each other, clearly trying to stifle their laughter. Michael and Draco were glaring at one another as if challenging the other the break first, and Hermione was becoming frustrated with the whole lot of them. She was annoyed that the other four boys were interrupting her alone time with Draco, so she decided that she would do something about it.

"Harry, Ron," she began finally breaking the silence and bringing everyone's attention to her. "Do you think you guys could take my things back for me? That way I don't have to lug them around."

"Yeah sure," Harry answered, taking Hermione's bag from her. Ron and Toby had clearly correctly interpreted Hermione's words as their cue to leave, so they all turned and made their way to the doors.

Michael however, did not get the message and he continued glaring at Draco, who was sending him and even more intense glare back. Ron was the one to break the staring contest by practically yanking Michael out of the way. "Come on Mike, let's get out of here."

Michael sent Draco one last glare, and was furious to see him wearing a very smug expression, his attention already turned back to Hermione. Hermione sent Ron a thankful smile and grinned back at Draco. "So," she asked, "what shall we do now?"

Draco thought for a moment, "I was thinking we could walk around wizarding London for a bit, then go out for dinner, and go from there."

"That sounds like a perfect plan to me!" smiled Hermione, practically bouncing on her toes.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Hermione had a wonderful afternoon and evening with Draco. He had told her all about his trip, and answered every single one of her questions. She seemed eager to visit all those places, and Draco promised her that one day he would take her to see them as well. Draco had then asked her about auror training, and what type of things they were doing. It did not matter what they were talking about, because every moment they were together, the world seemed completely perfect. There was nothing threatening to tear them apart anymore, and everything was absolutely perfect. Draco had taken Hermione out to a semi-fancy restaurant. Hermione had objected at first, arguing that she was not properly dressed, but Draco had insisted. In the end she gave in, for she could not seem to hold her ground against his enchanting eyes and soothing voice.

The dinner was exquisite and Hermione was glad she had lost that particular battle, because it was definitely worth it. After dinner they walked around a park which had a fountain filled that sprayed water that constantly changed colors. Hermione was dazzled by it, especially because it looked even more beautiful in the setting sun. She and Draco held each other close at they walked along the winding paths, each wishing that the moment would never end. Yet, as the last ray of light from the sun sank beneath the horizon, Hermione let out a sad sigh.

Draco knew what was coming, and he wasn't ready for the night to be over, so before she got a chance to speak, he lowered his lips to her in a soft, gentle kiss. Hermione allowed the kisses to continue for a while. She eagerly lost herself in the sensations his touched sent through her because she did not want the night to end either. However one of them had to be the responsible one, for they could not stay out here all night together. She could not return to Draco's Manor because then Harry and Ron would worry, and Draco was still not allowed to know where Grimmauld Place was.

It took all the restraint she had not to continue kissing Draco, but finally she pulled away. The need and desire in Draco's expression pained her, because she knew that she needed and wanted him just as bad. "I have to go," she whispered so softly she barely spoke at all.

Draco pulled her closer, "no you don't," he insisted, "come back to the Manor with me, you can get your things in the morning."

Hermione smiled up at him, "I can't Harry and Ron will worry about me."

Draco sighed in defeat; this was one battle he knew he had already lost, "just a little while longer then."

Hermione laughed and kissed him again, "if I stay one more moment, then I might never be able to leave."

Draco kissed her this time, "and why would that be so bad?"

"Please Draco," the sadness in her tone was more pronounced this time, "don't make this harder than it already is. I promise, tomorrow after training, I'll come over to the Manor and we'll see each other again, but right now I have to go."

Draco conceded to her wishes with a nod, "alright. Until tomorrow then."

"I'm already counting down the minutes," Hermione smiled as she kissed him once more before apparating away. She had to go as fast as possible because she seriously doubted she would be able to restrain herself from staying with him if she looked into his eyes one more second.

Draco felt a wave of longing and sadness pass over him as soon as Hermione left. He knew it was silly, missing her so much when he knew he would be seeing her again the next day. But he couldn't help it, every time he saw Hermione his need for her grew stronger, which only made the times without her that much harder to bear. He took a final glance at the fountain before apparating back to the Manor. He strode through the dark and empty halls, ignoring the house-elves greetings. When he arrived in his room, he plopped onto his bed with his eyes closed. A vision of Hermione's face swam in front of him, and a smile graced his lips as he thought of her, already eager to see her once more the next day.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione apparated just outside the entrance to Grimmauld Place, and already she craved the warmth of Draco's embrace. She took a breath before entering the house, as if preparing herself for a confrontation like the one's she was used to coming from Harry and Ron. But she entered the house to find the hallway was empty, as was the sitting room where they all normally hung out. Hermione cocked her head curiously. She then made her way up the stairs and checked both of their rooms, but they were nowhere to be found. She walked back down to the entrance and called for them. "Harry! Ron! Are you guys home?"

"We're in the conference room!" Ron shouted back to her.

Hermione frowned, the only time anyone used the conference room was for Order of the Phoenix business, so what could Harry and Ron possibly be doing in there? "Hey guys, what are you doing?"

"Hey Hermione, sit down we've got loads to tell you!" Harry began immediately, but he did not sound eager or excited, more like anxious.

"What is it?" she asked, feeling wary.

"Well," said Harry, "shortly after we got home, Dumbledore, Tonks, Lupin McGonagall, and Snape came by, for an emergency meeting. They wanted us to go get you, but when we told them you were with Malfoy, they agreed to let us fill you in afterwards cause they didn't want him getting suspicious of anything."

Hermione was looking rather alarmed, "what sort of emergency was it? What's happened? Everyone's alright aren't they?"

"Hang on, I'll tell you," assured Harry. "Don't worry everything's fine, the meeting was just about something that Voldemort and the Death Eaters are planning. Snape said that Voldemort's getting restless and really impatient with all the Death Eaters, and he's determined to come after me. So basically we were talking about all sort of precautions and security measures they want the three of us to take because Snape didn't know exactly what Voldemort is planning, but Dumbledore doesn't want to risk anything by not being careful. So basically he wants to us to go everywhere in pairs so that we're less likely to be caught or hurt."

"So Voldemort's after you again, but Snape's not sure how he's planning on getting you this time?"

"Right, apparently there was a meeting between the Death Eaters last night, but all Voldemort told them was to be ready to act once they received further instruction." Ron explained.

"Yeah, and Dumbledore reckons that he's going to start sending us out on some small missions, stuff that's not really dangerous, but will hopefully help find information and stuff like that. He said he'd let us know what he wants us all to do soon." Harry added.

"Wow, missions for the Order already, he must be taking this really seriously," Hermione reasoned.

"Yeah well, he thinks that Voldemort's getting desperate, and he does not want to wait and give him the time to act, so he wants us to know as much and be as prepared as possible," said Harry.

"That makes sense," nodded Hermione, "I just wonder what he's going to have us do."

"That's what Harry and me were talking about," Ron piped in, "we reckon it's boring stuff, cause he still doesn't want us in danger if we can help it."

Hermione nodded, but her thoughts were racing. She was rather frightened by the idea of going on a mission for the Order. She was willing and prepared to do it of course, she was ready to do whatever was necessary, however the thought still unnerved her a bit. These were serious Dark witches and wizards they were dealing with, and despite all she'd done in the past, she still did not feel quite prepared enough to face them.

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I hope everyone enjoyed it, and I will try my best to make the next update come faster, although the shooting dates for my film are coming up, so I can't guarantee anything. I would love to hear what everyone thought of this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **This should be obvious by now, I am not JK Rowling, I do not own Harry Potter. I am just an HP fanatic who loves to write fanfictions about the most unlikely of pairings

**A/N: **I know it seems like I disappeared off the face of the planet, but I assure you that I'm still here. I am terribly sorry it took me so long to update, but the film I was producing took over my life last month, and I hardly had time for my other school work let alone to update my fanfics. However, I am happy to say that shooting went well, and so now I have more time to focus on my fics. Thank you all so much for sticking with me, you have no idea how much I appreciate it! I'm sorry For not sending individual shout outs for everyone who reviewed last chapter, but I have an essay that should have been done weeks ago that I am putting off in order to post this chapter for you all, so I hope you'll forgive me. Anyway to all who reviewed chapter four thank you very much, I really do love reading your thoughts on my work.

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**Chapter 5: Missions for the Order**

The next morning, Hermione awoke feeling anxious and jittery. She got up and conjured herself a bowl of oatmeal, which she ate without tasting until Harry and Ron trampled downstairs. There was a heavy silence in the usually cozy kitchen as Harry and Ron prepared their breakfasts and Hermione sat at the table. All three of them seemed to have a lot on their minds and as a result, conversation was scarce.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, the post arrived. In addition to the usual Daily Prophet, a letter arrived; though it was not delivered the usual way via owl. This letter was delivered by a burst of flame which ignited in midair and left the letter floating gently down to the center of the table.

"Fawkes," exclaimed Harry as he lunged for the letter, reaching it only just before Ron.

Hermione lowered the paper she had been reading and stared at Harry as he read the note to Dumbledore. "Well," she urged, "what is it Harry?"

Harry glanced up, his expression thoroughly disappointed, before he read the letter aloud to Hermione and Ron.

_Harry, Ron, and Hermione,  
__Be back at the Headquarters promptly at 4pm this afternoon to receive your assignments.  
__A. Dumbledore_

"That's it?" Hermione tore the note from Harry's fingers to read it herself. "No explanation or anything?"

"That's it" confirmed Harry.

"Well that was quick," remarked Ron, "I wonder what he's having us do."

Hermione dropped the letter on the table and let out an internal groan. She of course would never dream of skiving off an important meeting with Dumbledore such as this, but she knew Draco was going to be pissed when she owled him to cancel their date for the afternoon. She wasn't too pleased with the situation either, but at least she knew that she had a very good reason for missing him. He on the other hand could have no idea what she was doing. With a roll of her eyes, she pushed herself none too gently away from the table.

The boys noticed the frustration in Hermione's action and Harry was the first to speak up about it, "everything alright?"

"Bloody fantastic," Hermione replied with a sarcastic tone, "I just have to owl Draco, I had promised him that I'd meet up with him after training this afternoon.

"What are you going to tell him?" Harry asked. He knew his friend wasn't stupid enough to betray the Order's secrets, but he needed to double check just to make sure.

"That something that I couldn't miss came up I guess. What else can I tell him? But I can tell you right now, it won't be easy hiding this from him, he's not an idiot and you both know he gets suspicious quickly."

"We'll help you figure out what to tell him Hermione, and whatever story you have to com up with you know we'll back you up one hundred percent," assured Harry.

"Absolutely," nodded Ron in agreement.

"Thanks guys, I'll be back in a minute." Hermione turned to go, but then turned back just as quickly. "Harry, do you mind if I borrow Hedwig?"

"Not at all, she'd probably napping in my room."

"Great, thanks."

Few minutes later, Hermione returned to the kitchen and the three of them apparated to the Ministry. They walked into the conference room just as the clock struck 9:00am. They all sat down and Hermione began to unpack her writing supplies when Kingsley spoke.

"Don't unpack your things just yet," he instructed.

Hermione had been in the middle of unscrewing her ink bottle top when she stopped and slowly retightened it. The five trainees viewed Kingsley with curious expressions.

"You will need to take notes later, however we will not be holding this morning's training session here. Today we are to learn about some of the various Dark Detectors the Ministry aurors have at their disposal to aid in the detection and capture of Dark witches and wizards."

Hermione appeared indifferent to this announcement. She had already read all about Dark Detectors in detail, and while that normally wouldn't have affected her interest in the lesson, today she simply had other things on her mind, such as their meeting with Dumbledore that afternoon, and even more pressing in her opinion was her get together with Draco afterwards. Harry also looked rather indifferent, bordering on bored. After all, he had already been exposed to many sorts of Dark Detectors back in his fourth year at Hogwarts when he had visited the imposter Moody's office. Ron, Michael and Toby on the other hand all looked rather excited at the prospect of seeing the tools they were to be using eventually.

Hermione fell to the back of the group as Kingsley led them to the floor which housed the Ministry's stock of Dark Detectors. In her mind she was contemplating what excuse to use when she saw Draco. But no matter what she came up with she did not feel that she would be able to back it up convincingly. He was just as sharp at reading her as she was at reading him so whatever she came up with had to be as believable as possible. Unfortunately, her musings were interrupted by the very unwelcome voice of Michael.

"Someone looks worn out this morning," he began in a rather rude, almost accusing manner, "not very thoughtful of your boyfriend to keep you up all night is it? Especially when, unlike him you actually have important things to do in the morning and can't sleep all day."

Hermione scoffed, "you don't know what the fuck your talking about. Draco did not keep me up all night, and Harry and Ron can vouch for me." With that she stuck her nose up in the air and charged forward to the front of the group so that Harry, Ron and Toby were between her and Michael.

Harry and Ron, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, sent each other a look. While they still could not stand Hermione's choice in a boyfriend, they were not about to let anyone speak to her in such a manner because of him. As if by silent agreement, Ron moved forward and placed his arm, in a comforting gesture around Hermione's shoulders while Harry slowed his pace until he was next to Michael.

"Just ignore him Hermione," whispered Ron so that Kingsley wouldn't hear.

"That's what I've been doing since training began. I thought he'd stop after Draco returned, but obviously I was wrong. Right now I'd just love to slap him right across the face."

"Are you sure you want to do that Hermione?" Ron asked with a mischievous grin. "Because the last guy you slapped is now your boyfriend."

This had just the effect Ron had been hoping for, Hermione's face broke into a grin and she laughed. "You're right," she agreed, "perhaps I should punch him in the stomach instead."

"That could work," Ron said in a thoughtful, yet joking way as he dropped his arm from her shoulders back to his side.

Meanwhile at the back of the group, Harry was walking next to Michael with a stern expression on his face. "look _mate_" he muttered sarcastically, "If you don't stop annoyring Hermione about Malfoy then in addition to dealing with both her and Malfoy, you're going to have to answer to me and Ron as well. Because we're tired of seeing you harass our best friend like you are."

"What do you care?" spat Michael, "you don't even like Malfoy. Besides don't you think that she deserved someone better that that lowly Death Eater scum?"

Harry glared at Michael but his words had caused a startling revelation within Harry. His first inclination had been to say yes, she did deserve better. But then in a flash he thought of all the things Malfoy had done for Hermione. Harry had on more than one occasion been shocked at how well Malfoy knew Hermione and what he did for her. A frightening thought then entered Harry's brain, one which literally caused him to stop dead in his tracks; there was no one who was better for Hermione. Sure, despite what Malfoy may think of himself he was far from perfect, but then again so was everyone in one way or another. And it didn't matter what Harry, or Ron, or anyone thought of Malfoy as long as he and Hermione loved each other.

Suddenly Harry found himself defending Malfoy for Hermione's sake, "Hermione loves him, end of story. Besides, he obviously respects her much more than you do! So like I said, leave her alone, or deal with three really annoyed people, and one pissed off Malfoy." Harry stomped forward to join Hermione and Ron, leaving Michael scowling at their backs.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco stirred from sleep to wakefulness because of an incessant tapping sound. He strode over to the window where the sound was coming from and allowed the snowy owl, Potter's owl, inside. Hedwig flew in and landed on the back of a chair which was closest to the window. She held out her leg in a grudging manner, as if she would rather be anywhere other than where she was.

Draco meanwhile, scowled at the owl and took his time uniting the letter, simply to further piss the bloody bird off. When he finally removed the letter completely, Hedwig flew off, her wing hitting Draco in the face. "Bloody owl!" Draco called after her as he closed the window. He opened the letter and was unsurprised to see Hermione's handwriting, however though it was recognizable; this was not her usual perfect handwriting. It almost seemed as if her hand had been shaking when she wrote the note, for the letters were jumpy and messy compared to her usual standards. This observation did not bode well in Draco, so it was with much reluctance that he read the brief note's contents.

_Draco,  
__It was so great seeing you again last night, and I wish more than anything that I didn't have to do this right now. But I have to cancel our plans for this afternoon, something came up that I can't miss. I'm so sorry and I promise that I will come over as soon as I can.  
__All My Love,  
__Hermione_

Draco's initial reaction was of course that of anger. 'How can she cancel on me like that without any sort of explanation?' he raged to himself as he read the letter a second time and began stomping around his room. But upon rereading the letter, his anger quickly faded into concern. Why was her handwriting all messy, she couldn't have been in trouble could she? 'No' he answered himself, 'If that were the case, she would have told me what was wrong.'

The more he considered it, the more his thoughts slipped from concern into suspicion. That was not like Hermione, to cancel without providing a good reason that sounded more like something he would do. Something he would do if he had something to hide. Why would Hermione have anything to hide, and what could it possibly be to have occurred so suddenly?

Draco's mind was suddenly bombarded with conflicting thoughts as to what he should do, how he should feel, and what he should say to her in his reply. Had she been anyone else, the answers would have been simple; he would accuse her of hiding something and demand the truth. But the plain fact was that Draco did not want to be mad at Hermione. He had missed her far too much and had gone far too long without seeing her to allow one suspicious letter to ruin everything.

'Besides' he added to himself, 'she's never given me a reason not to trust her, and if she were really hiding something, then she would have known about it before this morning anyway so she wouldn't have made plans to begin with.' Judging by the untidy handwriting and by what she had said, whatever it was that she had to do had come as much of a surprise to her as it was to him. 'I have nothing to worry about' he convinced himself, though he was only partially successful, 'she'd never hide anything important from me. I'm sure she'll tell me all about it later anyway.'

Draco changed into his robes before setting down to write a response to Hermione. He didn't want to come off as angry, but since a part of him still was a little mad he needed the time to plan out what he was going to write.

Once he felt calm enough, he sat down at the desk in his room, pulled out a piece of parchment, and loaded a quill with ink and penned a response to Hermione. He wasn't in a rush to send Aries off with it because he knew that Aries wouldn't be able to deliver it until Hermione went on her lunch break. Draco folded and addressed the note, and then casually strode through the Manor to the breakfast room where Mimi was waiting.

"Master Draco!" she bowed low, "Good morning sir. What is you wanting for breakfast?"

"Just the usual Mimi," Draco sighed with a distracted wave of his hand, not even glancing at the elf.

Draco took his time eating a rather large breakfast, and once he was finished, he wandered outside to the owlry to give Aries the note for Hermione. Aries was lounging on his perch, appearing as if he had just been drifting off to sleep. Whether he rather would have been sleeping or not, he did not let on as he swooped gracefully down to Draco's shoulder.

"Hey, Draco stroked Aries' feathers before tying the note to the owl's outstretched leg. "Deliver this to Hermione. You won't be able to bring it to her in her class, so just wait until they break for lunch alright. If she looks like she's going to respond, then wait until she's finished, otherwise you can come back here for a long nap and a pile of owl treats."

Aries, who had seemed annoyed at the thought of sitting around and waiting to make his delivery, perked right up at the mention of sleep and treats. He gave Draco an affectionate nip on the ear and took off with an air of grace that only a Malfoy owl could attain.

Draco watched his owl shrink smaller and smaller into the distance. He found that he was hoping for a response from Hermione, any explanation would do and help relieve him of his suspicious thoughts. He did his best to shake them from his mind, but he couldn't help it, it was in his nature to be suspicious.

As he was standing there, pondering his thoughts a figure loomed towards him in the sky, but Draco did not fully notice it until it was close enough to be recognized. Narcissa's owl was flying directly towards him. The owl landed gently on his shoulder and held it's leg out with an air of impatience.

_Draco,  
__How are you? Who knows when and where Ebony will find you since you don't see fit to write your own mother to inform her of your travel details. I hope your lack of communication means you are busy and enjoying yourself.  
__I wanted to tell you that I will be residing in France for a while longer, I just love this country so much it'd be a shame to leave. I just wanted to tell you in case you were home and were wondering where I was. Or if you are still traveling, you might decide to visit your mother for a while.  
__Write back, and let me know what you have been up to. I am your mother after all, I have a right to know what my son is doing.  
__Love,  
__Narcissa._

Draco rolled his eyes and chuckled at his mother's haughty humor. He knew she was not actually angry with him that was just how she was. He did feel a slight twinge of guilt at the fact that he had completely forgotten to write her once since he'd left, he supposed he should be a good son and grant her request for a response.

Draco stalked back into the Manor, Ebony still settled on his shoulder. He sat at a desk in the closest room to pen his letter.

_Mother,  
__I am happy to hear that you are enjoying France so much, although I can't understand what about it draws your attention. I am back at the Manor, but I did have a good time traveling. I went to our place in Italy, and then I went down to Australia. It's magnificent down there Mother; I am planning on purchasing another vacation home so I can visit more often. I just got back home, so I'm still looking for something to do other than rot in the Manor all day. I'll probably go flying once I send this, but other than that I'm rather bored to be honest.  
__Have fun in France.  
__Draco_

"Return this to Narcissa," Draco ordered Ebony as he tied the letter to the owl's leg.

Draco carried the owl over to the window where it took off without so much as a hoot, not that Draco cared, Ebony had never seemed to enjoy delivering letters. Draco thought that was because Narcissa spoiled her owl too much, not that he cared.

With his letter sent and an entire day ahead of him to waste, Draco made his way to the back of the Manor, where the smallest room in the whole house was. This room was where Draco kept all his quidditch gear, Narcissa kept her gardening supplies (not that she ever used it, it was more for looks than anything else), and any other outdoor things they owned. Draco lifted his broom off of the display shelf on which it sat when it was not in use. His Nimbus 2001 was no longer the fastest broom on the market by any means, it had long been surpassed by the firebolt and others, but it was his and he enjoyed flying it nonetheless. After double checking that his broom was picture perfect, he carried it over to the crate of quidditch balls. He had a complete set, however since he had no one to fly with, he only removed the snitch.

Once outside, Draco released the snitch and watched it fly around a bit before it disappeared in the golden light of the sun. There was a steady breeze which might have been chilly to some, but to Draco it was perfect flying weather. He mounted his broom and with a firm push, kicked off into the sky. He took a speedy lap around the entire Manor before beginning his search for the snitch.

With the exception of a short break for lunch (which Mimi insisted that Draco take) he spent the entire morning and afternoon flying. Sometimes he would search for the snitch, other times he would just fly around for the sake of flying.

Finally, when the sun had set below the horizon, Mimi came racing outside and squeaking to Draco, "Master Draco you is flying too late! It is dark and you is going to get hurt if you is staying outside! And Mimi is preparing you dinner for you sir, it is ready and is getting cold!"

Draco rolled his eyes and accioed the snitch to him, "Very well, Mimi, I'm coming!" he called from the air. While he was annoyed at Mimi for attempting to order him around, he had to admit that it was getting a bit late for flying, and he hadn't even realized how dark it was. He landed just outside the back entrance to the Manor and deposited the snitch and his broom back to the proper places before heading inside for his dinner.

- - - - - - - - - -

The trainees spent the morning learning about the various Dark Detectors the Ministry had. Kingsley had held the lesson in a huge room; one wall was completely lined with shelves which held sneakoscopes, the Ministry's entire collection of Veritaserum, which Hermione thought was awfully small, and secrecy sensors. A closet, which extended from the main room, was filled with foe-glasses of various sizes and sensitivities. Finally, a second room, which linked to the main room, was filled with filing cabinets documenting various Auror missions in which the Ministry's dark detectors had been used.

Hermione had put he thoughts about Draco to the back of her mind during the training session mostly because she couldn't think of any good ideas anyway. She walked ahead of the rest of the group in order to stay away from Michael as they all crossed the lobby in the direction of the Ministry restaurant, but as she passed the fountain something happened to return her thoughts about the upcoming afternoon full force. An owl hooted and before Hermione had the chance to look up, it landed on her shoulder.

Hermione let out a small shriek of surprise, causing the boys behind her to laugh. She sent them a glare and then continued walking. "So Aries, what did Draco have to say? Was he mad?"

Aries simply looked at her, providing absolutely no answers. Hermione arrived in the restaurant and seated herself in a table for two, she did not feel like eating with the others this afternoon, plus she needed time to read Draco's letter without being disturbed.

_Hermione,  
__I can't pretend that I'm not disappointed about you canceling our plans for this afternoon. _

"Aww, what's the matter? Trouble in Paradise Hermione?" Hermione had not noticed that Michael had snuck up behind her to read Draco's letter. In a flash, Hermione hid the letter and leapt out of her chair.

"Do you mind?" she spat at him.

"Not at all," he remarked with a false smile, "so, you and Drakie have a fight last night or something? Is that why you looked so exhausted this morning?"

"No, _Draco_ and I had a wonderful night, not that it's any of your business."

"Sure, that's why you canceling on him tonight then right?"

"No, for your information I forgot about plans I already had this afternoon. But not only will I be seeing Draco tonight, I'm planning on spending the whole night with him!"

Michael looked furious, but he could not seem to come up with an adequate retort, so instead he stalked away.

Hermione meanwhile sat back down to finish reading Draco's letter.

_I'm sure you have a good reason for your letter. So I still look forward to seeing you whenever you're done. I hope that everything's alright, your handwriting seemed a bit shaky before. See you tonight.  
__Love,  
__Draco_

Hermione let out a relieved breath. He didn't seem mad, certainly not as mad as she anticipated he would be. And while she still did not have a real excuse, her confrontation with Michael had given her an idea of something that might distract Draco enough to avoid the question. A part of her felt guilty for deceiving Draco in such a manner, but it was the easiest way to avoid problems, so it had to be done. As Hermione was thinking, Aries seemed to decide that he had stayed long enough, so he gently nipped her ear and took off with an elegant swish of his wings.

After watching the eagle owl fly away, Hermione sped through her meal and returned to the regular conference room where Kingsley would be holding the rest of the day's session. "Finished with lunch already?" Kingsley asked as she walked in.

"Yeah," Hermione felt a tad awkward not knowing what to say.

"Where are the others?"

"Oh they're still eating, I ate alone today. I guess I just needed a break from boys," Hermione shrugged.

Kingsley let out a deep chuckle, "I'm sure to a young woman as ambitious and hard-working as you a group of guys such as them can become a bit annoying."

"I'll say," Hermione agreed with a smile.

"Well, you won't have to spend as much time with all of them anymore, when they return I am going to be assigning you all to your mentors."

"Mentors?"

"Yes, you are each going to be paired with an Auror who will instruct and guide you, a sort of on-the-job training if you will."

"Really? That's so exciting!"

"Yes, we feel it's best to give you a taste of what an Auror does day to day as soon as possible so you can be fully prepared, it's not all chasing dark wizards. That is a large part of it, but there is also a boring part to the job, which is of course what you will all begin learning."

Hermione laughed, "of course, well it's important to learn about the whole job and not just the exciting part of it I suppose."

"Exactly."

"If I may, who will I be paired with?"

"Actually, you are being paired with me."

"Oh, excellent," Hermione said with more than a hint of surprise.

"Yes, and Ron will be with Tonks, and Harry will be with Moody, although we will tell the class he is being paired with someone else since Alastor is technically retired."

"So you wanted us to be paired with Order members," reasoned Hermione in a voice hardly above a whisper.

"Best not talk about that here Hermione, what's the first rule we learn as an auror?"

"One can never be too careful," Hermione recited promptly.

Kingsley nodded, and it was clear that the conversation was over.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione Harry and Ron rushed out of class and apparated back to Grimmauld Place, Kingsley had held Harry back to inform him of his real mentor partner, so they were running a bit late. The house was still empty when they arrived, so they all stood around looking at each other. "So what'd you guys think about our mentor pairings?" Ron broke the silence.

Harry shrugged, "it's nice that they paired us all with Order members I guess."

"Yeah," agreed Ron, "you know what that means don't you? It means we're going to be going on actual missions not just doing stupid paperwork like Toby and Mike."

Hermione snorted, "or maybe we're paired with Order members to prevent us from doing just that."

"Oh come on Hermione," argued Ron "they know we're perfectly capable of handling ourselves out there."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "even so, they're certainly not going to encourage us recklessly chasing after Death Eaters."

"You are quite right Miss Granger."

The trio whipped around to face Dumbledore, who had somehow arrived without a sound and had apparently been listening to their conversation. "The Auror you have been paired with is who you will report to with you progress on the tasks which I will now assign you.

The three listened with rapt attention; the mood of the room was suddenly completely serious. They were all interested in learning what sort of work they were expected to do for the Order.

"First Harry, you task is additional training. Three times a week one of the Order Members, most likely either Alastor, Remus or myself will come by in the evening to teach you additional highly advanced and complex magic we feel you need to know.

Harry appeared slightly disappointed at first that his task was more lessons, but he understood their importance, and at least it wouldn't be like the occlumency lessons he had taken with Snape back in fifth year. These lessons were sure to be much more useful.

"Hermione," Dumbledore continued, "as you know, it is important for us to ally ourselves with as many groups of magical creatures as possible." Hermione nodded. Dumbledore pulled a roll of parchment out of his robe pocket. "This is a list of the major groups of various types of magical creatures. Next to each group you will find the name of a leader or leading organization. Your task is to get in contact with as many of them as possible to find out where their loyalties lie. If they seem to be on our side let me know and we will go from there. For now, I want you to focus on finding out how best to contact them all."

Hermione took the scroll, feeling as if by accepting it she was placing an unbearable weight on her shoulders. This was quite a large task Dumbledore was placing on her, and of course she was determined to do her best, but still it was quite a but more responsibility that she had anticipated being saddled with for her first Order task.

Once Ron had been given his task and Dumbledore had excused himself, the trio made themselves something for dinner. As if by silent agreement, no one brought up the subject of their Order missions. Instead they discussed trivial things, such as the young blonde receptionist witch that Ron had been fancying for the past few days.

"Why don't you just ask her out Ron?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"I can't do that! I don't even know her name," he cried.

"Well then, go up to her, introduce herself, ask her for her name, _then _ask her out."

"You make it sound so easy."

"Hermione magically cleaned her spot at the table, got up and leaned down next to Ron's ear, "that's because it is that easy Ron."

Ron grunted with disbelief.

Hermione jogged up the stairs to her room and place a set of pajamas and robes for the following day in her bag along with her parchment notebook. She then bustled back downstairs and stopped in the kitchen doorway. She cleared her throat, feeling rather awkward about what she was going to tell Harry and Ron.

The two looked dup at her with questioning gazes.

"I just wanted to let you know, I'm going over to Draco's."

"Alright, see you later," waved Harry.

"Actually, I think I might spend the night over there," a deep blush began to form on Hermione's cheeks which she cursed herself for. "Just because I had to cancel on him before and we hardly get to see each other anyway, so…"

"Hermione," interrupted Harry, wanting to think about what Malfoy and Hermione might do all night as little as possible, "it's ok he's your boyfriend we understand, just promise us you talk about him next time we see you."

Hermione laughed, "deal. See you tomorrow guys!"

With that, she skipped out the front door, thought clearly about Draco's Manor With a pop she dissaparated and a moment later had apparated to the front steps of the imposing residence. Forgetting that he might still be mad at her, Hermione felt positively giddy with the anticipation of seeing him again. She knocked on the door with the heavy silver serpent door knocker, and a moment later was greeted at the door by Mimi.

"Miss Hermione!" Mimi bowed and opened the door wide to allow Hermione entrance. "Mimi is so happy to be seeing you again Miss."

"Thank you Mimi, is Draco around?"

"Mimi believes Master Draco is in the shower Miss, Mater spent the whole day flying."

"Oh, well then, do you think you could bring me to his room? I forget how to get there on my own."

"Yes, of course Miss. Is you wanting anything else?"

"No, not right now thanks."

Mimi bowed again and proceeded to lead Hermione through the expansive Manor all the way up to Draco's room. "Thank you so much Mimi."

"You is very welcome Miss. If you is needing anything you call Mimi Miss." Mimi let herself out of the room and Hermione dropped her backpack at the foot of Draco's bed and looked around the room. She was becoming rather giggly because she knew Draco would be surprised, and that excited her.

Hermione could still hear the water running in the shower, so she allowed herself a tour of the balcony, which she truly loved. After a couple minutes, she heard Draco turn off the water, so she rushed back into his room and seated herself on his bed doing her absolute best to suppress the sudden fit of giggles which threatened to overcome her. After taking a very deep breath, she calmed herself down just in time, for Draco was opening the door to the bathroom.

The first thing he saw was Hermione sitting on his bed, and the sight cause him to stop short. "Hermione."

"Evening love," Hermione grinned proud that she had succeeded in surprising him. Much to Hermione's pleasure, he had a towel wrapped tight and low around his waist, displaying his perfect abs, a sight which she was sure to take the time to appreciate. She sauntered towards him, making slow movements so as to take in as much of him as possible.

Draco stepped forward to meet her, and automatically placed his hands on her waist, she could feel the dampness of his wet hands soaking through the fabric of her shirt, "what a pleasant surprise," Draco remarked in a husky whisper as he placed a welcoming kiss firmly on her lips. "I was worried that something was wrong because of your letter this morning."

"I'm glad I could surprise you," Hermione smiled as she placed a second quick kiss back on his lips. Hermione decided to continue before Draco asked any questions she was not prepared to answer. "And nothing was wrong, I just had something to do."

The way Hermione had dodged the question didn't sit well with Draco, and he opened his moth to tell her so, but before he could get a word out she interrupted him, "I was thinking, since we couldn't get together sooner, maybe I would just spend the night."

This also took Draco by surprise, for while he had always hoped Hermione would stay with him, she had always seemed to be against the idea. He still wanted to get a full explanation from her, but perhaps that could wait until morning. She was here now, a fact which he confirmed for himself by holding her tighter, so did it really matter what had kept her away earlier? Draco didn't want to spoil what could potentially be a very enjoyable night, so for once he allowed the issue to slide. "What about training in the morning? Or about what Potter and Weasley?" he questioned in a skeptical tone.

"I'll be fine for training, and I already told Harry and Ron I wouldn't be back, so we have the whole night together, all alone."

Draco pulled her into a longer sensual kiss, "I like alone." And much to both Draco and Hermione's pleasure they did have a very enjoyable night together.

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I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter even after the long wait for it. Things are going to start picking up plot wise pretty soon so hopefully that will encourage me to write more and update more frequently. Of course getting reviews doesn't hurt either ;o) Thanks! 


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Harrry Potter in all it's magnificence belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling.

**A/N: **Please please please don't hate me for the delay in updating. I had this chapter nearly complete, and then my hard drive completely died. That took forever to fix, then I was on vacation with limited internet access. Then every time I went to rewrite this chapter, I would get frustrated cause I forgot what I wrote the first time, and there were so many different ways this chapter could have gone that I had trouble choosing one. All I know is that the chapter you are reading is very different than the chapter which I had originally planned out, that's not to say it's better or worse, it's just different.

So, I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you forgive me. But rest assured, I have promised in the past that I will never give up on a fic once I start posting it, so no matter how long it takes, I will keep working at this fic until it is complete.

With that said, I would like to thank all the wonderful, loyal, and patient readers who reviewed last chapter. You guys are what kept me going when I felt too frustrated to write anymore. I apologize for not writing individual comments because I know people like them, and I really appreciate your comments and reviews.I should have time to write them for those who reviewthis chapter. Thank you so much everyone!

_pegasusbabi, kyooti, blueeyedchibi, a walk in the dark, FallenThrough, piper, dreamingstar213, anIme-prYncess, Steelo, elektra30, TSKers, Jo, the mask he wears, wannabeweasley, Jazmine, MorbidFemme, mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe, zuvalupa, IcyCrystal_

Finally, after much too long a wait, here is chapter 6:

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**Chapter 6: Keeping Secrets**

Hermione woke up just as the sun was sending its first rays into the room through the balcony door window. Her eyes were greeted by the form of Draco still slumbering beside her. The comforter had slid down during the night revealing Draco's toned chest. Hermione gently stroked his pale skin as the thoughts which she had repressed the night before invaded her mind. She was not daring enough to hope that Draco would not continue to question her about what had happened until he got a satisfactory answer. And she could tell already that she was going to crack with all the secrets she was going to be keeping from him.

Plus the weight of her first task was already taking its toll on her mind. Dumbledore needed that information quickly, and finding it was going to take a lot of time and research; time which would have otherwise been spent with Draco. She let out a sigh, and her eyes shot open when she felt Draco shift beside her.

He was now lying on his side and sending her a curious look, "what are you thinking about?" he asked in a whisper. He stroked her hair away from her face, and continued stroking it as he awaited her response.

Hermione closed her eyes and for an all too brief moment drowned herself in the feel of the moment. She brought her hand to his, removed it from her hair, and instead brought it to her lips and kissed every one of his fingers. "I was just thinking," she answered in a small voice.

"About what?" he removed his hand from hers and placed it on her waist underneath the covers.

"Training I guess," she lied. "We're meeting our mentors today, so I guess I'm a little worried about that."

Draco sent her a skeptical look. Hermione's face had appeared worried, and in his experience there was no test or class which caused Hermione to worry like that. Sure she would get antsy, but underneath the worry in her face, there was always excitement in her eyes. Draco gazed deep into her eyes but could find no trace of excitement in them. In fact, her smile even faltered a bit beneath his intense gaze.

'Shit, he knows I'm lying, I know he knows. What am I going to do?' Hermione panicked, though she did her best to hide it on her face she knew that somehow Draco could see right through her.

Draco frowned, his suspicions from the night before bombarded his mind again. Hermione was hiding something from him. "That's not it," he said "there's something more bothering you, I can see it in your eyes. Tell me."

His voice was calm, but his tone was stern. Hermione knew there was no way for her to get around the questions this time, and she dreaded what would come of the impending discussion. Hermione quickly fixed her face into what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She leaned in and kissed his lips, but noted that he did not respond, "Draco, there's nothing bothering me, I swear." She was relieved that her voice was steady, because inside her heart was thumping so loud she thought Draco might actually hear it. "Really, there's nothing, and I promise that it anything ever is bothering me, you'll be the very first person I tell."

Hermione smiled at her boyfriend, but he did not return the gesture. His gaze was searching her, and she did not like it. 'Keep it calm Hermione,' she coached herself, 'Don't lose it now.'

"Draco, really I swear, there's nothing wrong," she assured one last time.

Draco just sighed and rolled away from her off the bed. Hermione did her best to keep her face cheerful. "Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" Hermione asked.

"Go right ahead," Draco said as he waved his hand towards the bathroom.

Hermione locked herself inside the bathroom and took the deep breath she had been holding in since Draco had begun questioning her. She leaned her head back against the door and finally allowed her inner worry to wash onto her face. 'How am I ever going to make it through this?' she asked herself as she prepared the water for her shower.

Back in his room, Draco dressed himself, his expression was stern and his mind was far away. He did his best to chase away the idea that Hermione was hiding something from him. But Hermione wasn't good at lying and he could see it in her eyes and in her false smile. There was something going on and he was angry at her for keeping secrets from him and for daring to lie to his face. It just didn't make sense, she hadn't had anything to hide when he got back, but now all of a sudden she was acting strangely. Draco decided to begin by asking her again what had kept her the day before. He resolved to sound as nonchalant as possible, a task which was certain to be easier for him than it apparently was for Hermione since he had practiced the skill his entire life.

He could still hear the water running in the shower as he sat on the edge of the bed. He opened the drawer to the bedside table and removed the box which contained the gift he had bought for Hermione in Australia but had still not given to her. He opened the small box and gazed at its contents. With the way she was acting at the moment, he wondered if he would ever find the perfect time to give it to her. "What are you hiding?" he asked aloud in a dejected whisper.

After a couple moments, he heard the water stop, and in an instant he closed the box and returned it to its hiding place in the drawer. He then got up and walked out to the balcony so as to buy time to collect himself so that he didn't come across too harsh when he questioned Hermione.

Hermione spent her shower thinking of what to say to Draco when she got out. She was not foolish enough to believe he'd let the matter slide as he had last night. She finished dressing, viewed herself in the mirror and whispered, "here goes nothing."

When upon exiting the bathroom, Hermione did not immediately see Draco, she panicked. She thought that he had left her alone to find her way through his expansive Manor. She rushed over to the door threw it open and called "Draco!"

"I'm right here," Draco responded, though he made no movement to leave the balcony.

Hermione whipped around and let out a breath when she saw Draco standing just outside. She caught her breath as she made her way across the room. The fact that Draco kept his back towards her increased her sense of apprehension. She could almost feel the coldness emanating from him as she settled herself beside him. She faced forward towards the sun but her eyes darted up to Draco's face, trying to discern what he was thinking. "It's a beautiful view," she said to finally break the uneasy silence.

Draco merely huffed and remained silent for a moment longer. All of a sudden, he turned to face Hermione, "what was it that came up yesterday?" Though his voice was surprisingly light Hermione inwardly flinched as if he'd shouted at her. And no matter how calm his voice sounded, she could not ignore his piercing gaze. He could see through her as if she was made of glass, and she knew it.

"I told you, it was nothing. Just something I forgot about that's all," she answered with a shrug.

"_What_ something?" Draco was growing impatient.

"Nothing!" Hermione said a bit louder than she intended. But she was growing frustrated as well. "Why can't you just let it go? We're together now so why can't you just be happy with that?"

Draco's cool expression turned to an angry frown, "because you're hiding something from me and I want to know what it is!"

"I'm not hiding anything Draco!" Hermione shouted back.

"Then why can't you just tell me where you were yesterday?"

"Because I just can't!" Hermione shot back on instinct, but as soon as she spoke, she knew she'd said the wrong thing. She had admitted that she had something to hide.

For a moment, Draco looked like he was going to lose his temper. Until finally he turned back to the balcony and glared towards the sun. "Don't you have training to get to?"

Hermione, who had expected him to rage at her, was rather disappointed in his sudden lack of interest. She scoffed, "that's it? That's all you have to say to me?" She waited for a response, but when none came, she continued. "Well fine! If you're just going to stand there and be a stubborn arse, that's just fine with me!"

Hermione was halfway across the room before Draco spoke again. "who were you with?"

Hermione froze, "what?" she slowly turned around aghast.

"Who were you with?" Draco repeated, finally stepping back inside.

"Is that what you think? That I put off our time together because I'm cheating on you with someone else?"

"Well as I see it, that's the only option that makes any sense!" Draco fired back. But his anger was now loosing ground to another emotion. One which made Draco feel weak, and small, he felt vulnerable, and he did not like it.

For a long moment, Hermione stood still gazing at Draco with a look of complete shock. She had been so preoccupied with worry that it never crossed her mind that he would jump to a conclusion which to her was completely insane. On the one hand, she was hurt that he would think she would betray him like that (although considering the fact that she was lying she supposed it wasn't a big leap to make the assumption which Draco had.) But on the other hand, she was flattered in a way, flattered that he felt other guys would even give her the time of day and be a threat to their relationship.

"Baby is that really what you think?" Hermione asked in a soothing tone as she stepped towards him and placed her hand on his cheek.

Draco didn't respond, nor did he move or meet her eye.

"Draco you listen to me," Hermione waited until Draco looked her in the eye before continuing. Her gaze was serious, and her tone firm, yet caring, "I love you. If you believe anything, please believe that. You never have to question my love and devotion to you, and I hope you trust me about that."

Draco listened to every word Hermione said, but even more than that, he examined her face and her eyes. Unlike earlier, they revealed nothing but truth. Her tone resounded in his chest, she needed him to believe her, and she was striving for his trust. He still felt there was something going on, but the fact that she was still true to him left him feeling a bit more comfortable. "I trust you," he finally said, "and I'm sorry I doubted you for even a moment."

Hermione smiled the first true smile she had made all morning, "you're forgiven."

Draco then led Hermione down to the breakfast room where the house-elves provided them with an amazing breakfast consisting of all Hermione's favorites.

"Do you think you'll be able to come by after training?" Draco asked once they were finished.

"I don't know, we're meeting our mentors today and Kingsley said that we may have to stay later so that we have time to go over everything."

Draco merely nodded and directed his eyes toward his empty plate.

Hermione bit her lip. "If you're not doing anything today, why don't you stop by the Ministry around 1 for lunch?"

Draco appeared to brighten slightly at the invitation, and as he was not doing anything, he accepted.

"Excellent!" smiled Hermione. She then stood up and walked out to the hall, "Speaking of training, I had better get going."

Draco followed her, and held her by the waist before she could get to the door. He leaned in for a hungry kiss, "stay just a little bit longer," he pleaded.

Hermione allowed herself to return the kiss and even to wrap her arms tight around his neck. But just before she lost control and got carried away by his sweet caresses she broke away.

Draco moaned and attempted to pull her back. But she resisted by turning her head and pushing him away again. "Ouch," Draco clutched his chest as if he'd been mortally wounded.

Hermione giggled and kissed his cheek, "Do you think you'll live?"

"I guess we'll find out this afternoon, if you don't see me, then you'll know that I've died."

"You'll live." Hermione squeezed his hand and opened the front door.

"Well if I don't, you'll have to wrestle with the knowledge that you're the one who killed me!" Draco called after her.

"That would be too bad," mused Hermione jokingly, "although I'm sure Harry and Ron would love me if they knew I killed you.

Draco smirked, showing that he was not amused. Hermione just laughed at him, "I'll see you at lunch then!" and with that, she disapparated.

Draco stood for another couple minutes at the door after she'd gone before he closed it. There was still something not right, but he could not determine what it was. He didn't move from his spot until all of a sudden, his left arm seized up in pain. He clutched it as hard as he could and nearly doubled over with pain. He scratched at his sleeve until it was above his elbow, and he could clearly see the Dark Mark burning black. He clawed at the Mark until the pain began to subside and the black faded back into blood red.

Draco let out a roar of frustration and anger. He was so preoccupied with his rage that he did not notice the figure dart behind one of the garden trees as he closed the door. Draco's legs led him into one of the sitting rooms, and there he paced around like a tiger trapped in a cage which was too small. He had to get out, go somewhere and do something.

Without much of a thought as to where he would go or why, Draco stormed out of his Manor and apparated to the first place that popped into his head. From behind the tree in the garden, the figure concentrated on his quarry and disapparated with a loud pop.

Draco apparated to the top of a small hill in the picturesque city of Bath. He didn't know what it was that had brought him here, he had never been particularly partial to Bath, although he had to admit it was a beautiful place. However, deciding it best not to question his instincts, he set off down the hill to explore the city and hopefully find something which would strike his fancy.

Draco was halfway down the hill when a peculiar sensation overtook him, he felt as if he was being watched. He whipped around and scanned the top of the hill again, but when he found nothing out of the ordinary, he continued on his way.

- - - - - - - - - -

Seconds after leaving Draco's, Hermione reappeared in the Ministry lobby. A glance at the clock told her that she needed to run in order to get to training on time. She dashed through the hall and sped into the room, her cheeks slightly pink from sprinting so fast. All four of the boys watched her as she entered the room and plopped down in the seat next to Ron. "Hi," she said to Harry and Ron in between breaths.

"Hey," they answered.

"Cutting it rather close today don't you think?" Harry asked in a joking manner.

"Of course not," Hermione laughed.

"You had fun then?" asked Harry.

Hermione's eyes darted over to Michael and Toby before confirming that she did have fun.

"We were beginning to worry you might not show up," commented Ron, who had missed Hermione's eye movements. Harry however got the hint that something was up and sent her a small nod as if to say that they'd talk later.

Hermione pretended to be offended by Ron's comment, "Ron Weasley, how long have you known me? Since when have I ever blown off a responsibility without a good reason?"

Ron and Harry smiled. "You're right," agreed Ron, "I don't know what I was thinking."

The morning's training session was spent practicing more practical spells. Hermione and Harry formed one pair, while Ron, Michael and Toby took turns practicing on each other. Hermione and Harry began by practicing, however after a while, they moved away from the other group to talk. "What's up?" Harry began.

For the first time since she'd arrived at the Ministry Hermione allowed her smile to slip. "Harry I don't know what to do." She told Harry about the fight with Draco. "I managed to avoid the question and left on good terms, but I can't keep hiding stuff from him forever. He knows me too well, he can see through me better than anyone, even you and Ron."

"Hermione no matter what he says or does, you can't tell him," whispered Harry.

"I know!" Hermione retorted a bit too harshly. She took a calming breath, "I know I can't tell him, but I don't know how to keep everything from him without destroying our relationship."

Harry paused; he was hesitant to voice the response which had come to him because he knew Hermione would not like hearing it. And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear her answer to his question. Nevertheless, he said what he was thinking, "If it's going to be that big of a problem, then I guess you have to decide where your priorities are, what's more important to you?"

Hermione gaped at him, too shocked to speak. She attempted to say something a couple times, but all that came out were a series of indiscernible squeaks.

"I don't see much practicing going on over there!" called Kingsley from across the room.

Michael and Toby made catcalls, while Ron looked curious.

Harry returned to the center of the room with a plain look on his face, but Hermione took a moment longer to collect herself and regain her composure. She was not entirely successful however for she still looked rather angry when she rejoined the group.

"Now what would your _boyfriend_ say if he knew we all caught and Harry whispering to each other in a corner during practice like that?" taunted Michael.

That snapped Hermione's last nerve. "STUPIFY!" she roared. The spell hit Michael so hard that he flew back and hit the wall behind him with a loud crack.

"Expelliarmus!" Kingsley yelled. He caught Hermione's wand with his free hand, and sent her an angry glare before striding to where Michael lay unconscious. "Ennervate."

Michael moaned as he came too, but as soon as he opened his eyes he closed them and passed out again due to having his head slam into the wall.

"Toby, Ron, would you to bring him to the healer's office?" Toby and Ron nodded, and then lifted Michael up to carry him to the office. "Hermione, a word if you please. We'll be back in a few minutes Harry."

Hermione followed Kingsley out of the room and into his office with her head down. She knew that she had gone too far when she hexed Michael, but at the same time, she wasn't sorry for what she had done.

"Would you care to explain what happened in there?"

"Sorry sir, I lost my temper."

"You have never been one to loose her cool without a good reason Hermione. Care to tell me what's really bothering you?"

Hermione raised her gaze to meet Kingsley's. She debated lying to him, but somehow the idea that he may be able to help her with her problem gave her comfort enough to confess what was really going on. "It's got to do with the Order."

Kingsley cocked his head.

"And, with Draco," she added in a much smaller voice.

Kingsley's curiosity turned to a stern expression, he was aware that she was dating Draco, but he still did not fully approve of it; especially considering her duties to the Order.

Hermione bit her lip before letting everything pour out. "Yesterday I had to cancel on him because of the Order meeting, and I'm already hiding so many things from him, and now I have this big task to do which I also have to hide. Plus, it's going to take so much time to do and I don't know how I'll be able to take it. It's already wearing me out. And then in there," Hermione gestured back to the practice room "I was talking to Harry about the problem with Draco, and he basically told me I had to choose between the Order and Draco."

"We all have to make sacrifices for the things we care about Hermione," Kingsley said.

Hermione blinked. That was not the sort of response she had been expecting, or hoping for at all.

"I think Harry's right," continued Kingsley, "If keeping secrets from Draco is going to be too much of an issue for you, then you must decide which is more important to you."

Hermione scoffed and looked outraged, "how can you ask me to do that!"

"Not everything in life is easy Hermione." The two stood in a tense silence after that statement. Hermione was sending Kingsley a death glare, and Kingsley was thinking hard about how to help his new protégé. "I will do what I can to help you, but as long as you are in the Order you will be forced to hide things from Draco. I'm sorry but there is nothing I can do about that. And we really need an intelligent witch like you."

Hermione nodded, it was painfully clear which choice Harry and Kingsley wanted her to make.

"Now, I need to go check on Michael, I imagine you gave him quite a headache."

Hermione snorted, "he deserved it."

Kingsley just smiled, "why don't you stay here a couple minutes to collect yourself and think things over, and then come back to practice when you're ready."

"Thank you," Hermione muttered.

"And Hermione, whenever you need to talk about something like this, you can come to me. That's one of the things a mentor is for."

Hermione nodded, but only managed half a smile.

Once Kingsley left, Hermione slumped down into a chair next to his desk and massaged her temple while she thought. There was no way she was going to leave Draco just because of the Order. But there was also no chance of her leaving the Order to be with Draco, there were just too many people counting on her. "I'll just have to make it work," she decided aloud. "I've gotten though worse than this plenty of times before. I just need to get organized and stop worrying so much."

As she shuffled back to the practice room she decided that before she went to bed, she would create a schedule. That way she could plan out when she would work on order business, when she would spend time with Draco, and at the same time make sure she still had free time with Harry and Ron. She knew it would be tough, but she had to make it work, there was no other choice.

She opened the door and slipped unnoticed into the practice room. Harry, Ron and Toby were taking turns firing curses at each other when Hermione approached. Once she arrived, the boys stopped and regrouped so that Hermione and Ron formed one pair while Harry and Toby formed the other.

They practiced in silence until it was time to break for lunch. "Alright everyone!" bellowed Kingsley, "that was a very good practice. We will not be meeting together this afternoon, instead you will head directly to your mentors office at 2 o'clock for the rest of the day.

The four trainees nodded and then made their way out of the practice room.

"Intense practice huh guys," stated Ron. "Hermione you really took care of Mike there!"

"Yeah well I'm sick of his taunts," muttered Hermione in a tone that clearly told Ron to drop the subject. "I'm going this way," Hermione said when the group came to a break in the hall.

"Why? Aren't you coming to lunch?" asked Harry.

"No, Draco's meeting me for lunch, so I'll catch you and Ron back home."

"Oh, ok, bye," said Harry.

"Yeah bye!" agreed Ron.

A welcomed wave of relief flowed through Hermione when she arrived in the lobby to find Draco waiting for her. They met by the fountain and greeted each other with a sweet kiss. "It's so good to see you," said Hermione in a relieved tone.

Draco lifted an eyebrow, "we just saw each other this morning, did you really miss me that much, or did you just have a bad training session?"

"Both," Hermione admitted.

"Well, why don't we apparate to Diagon Alley and you can tell me all about it."

"That sounds like a perfect plan." Hermione took his hand, and together they apparated just outside the Leaky Cauldron.

"Where would you like to eat?" asked Draco.

"Let's see, not the Leaky Cauldron, it's so dark in there. Let's find a more cheerful place."

"Alright." Draco led the way through the street, which was bustling with people out for a day of shopping as well as people on their lunch breaks. "How about that one?" Draco pointed to a medium sized restaurant which had a lot of windows to allow the sun to shine through.

"That looks perfect," Hermione smiled and kissed Draco's cheek.

The waitress seated Draco and Hermione in a table for two by a large window where they could watch the people on the street and enjoy their meal. At first they just perused their menus until they had both decided what to order. One they had given their orders to the waitress, they directed their gazes at each other. Draco reached across the table to take Hermione's hands in his, "Now, tell me about training."

"It really wasn't so bad I suppose, just tiring. We were doing practical training again so we all got knocked out a lot. But then towards the end, Michael made a stupid comment about you, and I couldn't take it. I don't know what happened, but it was like a part of me snapped. I stupefied him, and completely knocked him out cause he slammed into the wall, so then Kingsley had a talk with me, and …ugh." Hermione dropped her head in her hands out of frustration.

Draco chuckled, "sorry I missed it, it sounds like that would have been an entertaining sight."

Hermione huffed, "you wouldn't have missed it if you had decided to become an auror too," she muttered.

Draco's mood took a definite down turn after that, and a heavy silence filled the table. Luckily it did not last too long, because their lunch arrived and served to ease it discomfort a bit.

"Mmm, this is really good," Hermione commented between mouthfuls, "we should come here more often."

"Yeah we should," Draco nodded in agreement. Draco was about to take another bite of his meal when the uneasy sensation that he was being watched crept over him again. He looked around behind him, and out the window, but could not see anything out of the ordinary.

"Is something wrong?" questioned Hermione, noticing Draco's odd behavior.

"No, it's nothing," Draco said forcing himself to return his attention to his lunch. "I just had the feeling that someone was watching me. I felt it this morning when I went out too."

"Oh." Frowned Hermione, "that's strange."

"I know," Draco decided not to tell Hermione that usually his instincts about feeling watched were correct, nor did he tell her about the Dark Mark burning earlier. He did not want to add any more stress to her mind. "It's probably nothing; I haven't been out much lately. I guess I just need to get used to crowds again."

"Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable explanation," agreed Hermione. "So, where did you go today?"

"I apparated over to Bath, I bought some things for Narcissa and owled them over to he in France."

"That was considerate of you."

"Yeah well, stuff like that makes her happy, so since I had nothing better to do I thought why not."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head with amusement.

They finished lunch rather quickly, Draco of course refusing to allow Hermione to pay for her meal, causing her to feel both flattered and frustrated. "Well," Hermione said once they were back outside, "since you refused to let me pay," Draco rolled his eyes "I get to treat us both to some ice cream."

Draco chuckled, "if you insist," he then allowed Hermione to lead him to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where Hermione purchased them both delicious sundaes. "Happy now?" Draco asked after she had paid for them.

"Very," smiled Hermione. She enjoyed the fact that Draco liked to treat her to things, but she had an independent spirit and was fully capable of supporting herself as well. A fact which she did not want Draco to forget.

As they ate their dessert, Hermione and Draco chatted about the people who were passing by. Draco mostly made sarcastic and witty comments about the negative aspects of people's appearance, while Hermione disagreed with him and argued in favor of the people's positive qualities. It wasn't as if they were actually fighting, it was just the sort of fun debate that kept their active minds happy. And it was the perfect sort of entertainment for two stubborn individuals who happen to be in love and enjoy having meaningless arguments with one another.

Once they were finished, it was time for Hermione to return to the Ministry. "I don't think I'll be able to come over tonight," she kept her eyes down as she spoke.

Draco, who had been expecting her to say something like that, was still disappointed to hear it, though he was not at all surprised. "It's ok, but what about tomorrow afternoon?"

"I will see what happens with my mentor today, and I'll owl you tonight to let you know alright?"

"Alright," nodded Draco.

Hermione stood on her tiptoes to place a tender kiss on Draco's lips, "I love you."

"I love you too." Draco leaned down and the couple shared a deep long kiss, which drew attention from the passers by. Many of whom smiled at such a display of young love.

When the kiss broke Draco pulled Hermione closer to him and Hermione noticed the stares they were getting. She attempted to remove Draco's hands from her waist as she whispered, "Draco! People are staring at us!"

"What people?" Draco whispered as he leaned in to capture her in a kiss once more. Hermione too forgot about the other people in the street as Draco's kiss consumed her.

"I have to go," Hermione whispered reluctantly.

"I know," Draco answered, though he made no move to let her go.

"I'll owl you tonight," Hermione confirmed once more before disapparating out of Draco's arms.

With Hermione gone, Draco glanced around at the people who were still watching him, many sending him approving smiles. He let out an inward chuckle and followed Hermione's lead and disapparated back to his Manor.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione arrived in Kingsley's office promptly at 2 o'clock. She seated herself in a chair on the opposite side of the desk and awaited instruction.

"We'll begin in one second Hermione, I just need to finish this memo." Kingsley instructed as he continued to scratch a note on a small sheet of parchment. When he was finished, he wave his wand and the parchment folded itself into an airplane. Kingsley then wrote the recipients name on the side of the plane and sent it flying just below the ceiling.

"Well Hermione, originally I was planning on introducing you to the basics of the office duties of an auror, however I feel that more pressing matters need attending to first."

Hermione straightened up in her chair indicating that she was prepared for whatever Kingsley wanted her to do.

"After our discussion today, I began thinking about how to deal with it. I must admit that I am still rather concerned about you being in a relationship with Mr. Malfoy, however I am not in any position to judge or to tell you what to do."

Hermione tried to remain calm on the outside, but that did not suppress the frown on her face.

"I am concerned because long before you began dating Draco, his father made sure he was skilled in occlumency. One can only imagine that he is equally proficient in legilmency."

Hermione gasped as she realized where this was going, and she could not help but interrupt Kingsley. "Are you saying you think Draco would use magic to invade my mind?"

Kingsley sighed, he wanted to get through this with as little argument from Hermione as possible, but her trust in Draco was making it difficult. "all I'm saying is that I want to be sure. You've admitted yourself that he get suspicious easily, and if it came down to it, I do believe that he would use legilmency to see what was wrong." Hermione made a noise to interrupt, but Kingsley continued in a louder and more authoritative tone, "And _if_ he were to use legilmency, I want you to be prepared to block your mind. We cannot risk Order secrets getting out to anyone, no matter how trustworthy you think they are."

Hermione crossed her arms and huffed, but chose not to respond.

"Think about it Hermione," Kingsley attempted a different approach, "won't your life be easier if you knew how to block your mind? You wouldn't have to worry about revealing any secret information, so you would be able to relax and enjoy your time more."

Hermione's stubborn mind considered this argument. In all honesty, it made a lot of sense, and she recalled how much she had pressed Harry to learn Occlumency when he had been taking lessons from Snape back in fifth year. Her guilty conscience told her that if she could not justify being against learning occlumency herself when she had been so insistent about Harry learning it. "Alright," she conceded after a moment. "I'll do it."

"Excellent," Kingsley smiled. "I believe it best for us to return to the practice room for this."

Hermione nodded and followed Kingsley out of the room. As they were walking, a question came to her mind. "Kingsley, when Snape was teaching Harry occlumency, Harry said that it only cause his resistance to be weaker, and it made his mind easier to penetrate, do you think that could happen to me?"

"Occlumency is all about willpower Hermione. Harry had no desire to close his mind in Snape's lessons, so he was never able to master it. You however, have a very strong will, and an even stronger mind. You have to want to learn it and you have to keep your mind to it."

"So once I master it, is it difficult to do each time?" asked Hermione.

"That is dependent on the individual. For example, since you are overall an open and honest person, it will take a lot of concentration and effort to keep your mind closed, so it will take a lot of practice. Even after you master it, it will take a lot of concentration to keep your mind closed. Draco however, is a secretive person, from what I have heard the only person he has even been open to is you. So for him occlumency is a natural thing. He hardly had to work at it at all. As a result, I would imagine that opening his mind takes as much effort for him as closing your mind will for you."

Hermione nodded, Kingsley's explanation made a lot of sense in Hermione's mind, "alright, I'm ready.

"Excellent," Kingsley took out his wand, "Now, I will attempt to enter into your mind, so you must do your best to clear your head. Do not focus on any thoughts, simply concentrate."

Hermione nodded, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You may defend yourself with whatever spell you feel is necessary, but concentrate most on closing your mind. Rest assured that whatever thoughts I do see, remain in this room between us alone."

Hermione nodded again, though the thought of Kingsley seeing her private thoughts suddenly disturbed her and made her nervous.

"Here we go. Legilmens!"

Hermione felt an off sensation overtake her. It was almost as if her mind was separated from her body. She could see a memory from her past as if it were replaying before her. She saw the day her Hogwarts letter arrived, and how excited she was. The next image was that of when Harry and Ron saved her from the Mountain Troll on Halloween of first year. And then after that she saw the first time she had ever been called a mudblood, by none other than Draco himself '_No one asked for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood!'_

Hermione felt more than heard herself scream something, and in an instant the curse was finally lifted, and when she became aware of her surroundings, she found herself standing in the center of the room out of breath with her wand out in front of her. Apparently, she had shouted the disarming curse, for Kingsley was making his way across the room to retrieve his wand.

As Hermione stood catching her breath, the words from so long ago reverberated in her head, and she did not like it. Now the memory hurt more than it ever had, and it did not help that she though she had succeeded in removing that one from her conscience. Yet still, that memory did trigger in her a renewed determination to learn to close her mind. She did not want to relive bad experiences such as that any more than she wanted anyone else to witness them.

Kingsley repositioned himself a reasonable distance away from Hermione. "Are you ready to try again?" he asked with out making any comment as to the memories he had seen.

Hermione nodded and kept her lips pursed tight. She wasn't going to let him win this time.

"Legilmens!"

This time Hermione was more prepared, and the sensation of being hit by the curse was not a surprise, so she was ready for it. This time she managed to keep her concentration on blocking her mind. A part of her, which felt as if it was miles away, could feel that she was clenching her mouth together, and her fists her balled with the amount of effort she was expending. This time, instead of seeing defined memories, she merely saw blurs of color and the occasional face and or figure.

But the longer the curse lasted, the harder it was for her to fight it, and after a few moments, she could begin to see entire memories again. The memory of when Viktor asked her to the Yule Ball began to play itself, but before it became completely clear, Hermione felt herself shout "Protego!" and the curse was removed.

Hermione dropped her arm, closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. Kingsley meanwhile was smiling. "Excellent Hermione! Really Excellent!"

"What?" she asked in disbelief. "But the first time I did terrible, and then that time you could still see stuff."

"Yes, but you improved. It took me much longer to see a clear image the second time, and you stopped the connection much faster that time as well. It will take much more practice until you are able to beat the curse entirely, but I have complete faith that you will succeed."

Hermione smiled for the first time that afternoon.

"I must warn you however," continued Kingsley, "It will be much harder to block your mind around Draco, because it is always hardest to close ourselves to those we care for most."

This pronouncement did not help Hermione's confidence, but she tried not to let it disappoint her.

"I believe that is enough to begin with for now. I do not want to wear you out too much. We will continue with these lessons every afternoon, and if today is any indication, you will be an expert occlumens in no time." Kingsley winked at her, and then led her back to his office.

* * *

I hope everyone feels that it was worth the wait. Just a little preview of what to look forward to next chapter, Hermione begins work on her task, odd things continue to happen to Draco, and the plot should begin to pick up a bit more.

As always, reviews are welcomed and appreciated, and I promise to get the next chapter out ASAP! Thanks for your patience and understanding!


	7. Surprises and Disappointments

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore I do not own Harry Potter

**A/N: **I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth, and I haven't stopped working on this fic I promise! I did have to take a very long break from writing due to a combination of writers block and real life. But now I think I've managed to get things under control and can return to working on this fic. I have recently been having lots of good ideas for how to move the plot along, so I look forward to making them work and writing more. Thank you so much to everyone for being so patient, and as always a huge thanks and round of applause to my wonderful reviewers!

_lpark000, Mallory, Katie Weasley_ – Thank you so much for your support! I'm really glad that you like my fics, and I hope you continue to enjoy this one!  
_CrazyWriter330, Blondie091, blueeyedchibi, mAlFoYiSaWeSoMe, TSKers, Sunflower18, dreamingstar213, Piper, zuvalupa, 13BlacKAnGELs_ – I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter is worth it, and I'll try to update faster next time. Thank you for the reviews!  
_comedy gal_ - hey! Nice to hear from you again. That's so cool that you're from Australia, as I'm sure you could tell from the chapter, I absolutely love Sydney and Cairns, and basically the entire country lol. Anyway, thanks for the review!  
_Darkangelxx_ – thank you! I'm very happy that you think I've kept Draco in character, cause I think maintaining the characters is really important when writing a D/Hr fic, so it's cool to know I've succeeded in that. Hope you like this chapter!  
_Steelo_ – yeah it's really tough for her with all the stuff she's got to deal with, sooner or later you would think something would have to snap… Thanks for the review!  
_Pegasusbabi_ – you're definitely onto something about who's spying on Draco, and I can't decide what Michael's gonna do. So I guess we'll all have to see when I figure it out! Thanks for the review!  
_the mask he wears_ – I'm sorry to hear your computer crashed too, I know how much it sucks. I'm glad thank you got your story rewritten though :o) Thanks for the review!

Finally, after much too long a wait...chapter 7!

* * *

**Chapter 7: Surprises and Disappointments**

"Master Draco! Master Draco wake up sir!"

Draco scrunched up his face at the annoying high pitched cries reaching his ears, it was Saturday morning and he was in no mood to be awoken by a screeching house-elf. He rolled over and held a pillow over his head to block out the sound.

Mimi frowned, she needed to wake up her Master, but she did not want to be punished for angering him. She gulped as she made a very difficult decision. She climbed up on the bed and poked Draco in the side over and over while at the same time encouraging him to wake up. "Master Draco please wake up, Master's mum is home sir, and Madam is looking for you!"

Draco swatted Mimi's hand away and groaned he hadn't listened to a word she'd said. He pushed himself up and turned to Mimi with half open eyes and a grumpy frown, "what?"

"Madam Narcissa is home sir, and Madam is wanting to see you!" Mimi squeaked, and leapt off the bed, clearly terrified of being punished.

"What!" Draco fully woke all of a sudden, "what is she doing home?"

"She is returned from France sir, and she is sending Mimi to get you sir. Mimi is sorry for waking you up, but Madam ordered Mimi sir!" Mimi trembled in her place and faced towards the ground.

Draco was too stunned that his mother was home to pay any attention to the house-elf's frightened behavior. He glanced at the clock by his desk, it was just about 10:30; Narcissa would surely wonder what Draco was still doing in bed at this hour. "Mimi, go tell Mother I'll be down in a moment."

"Yes Master Draco sir!" Mimi scampered out of his room before he decided to punish her, and rushed down the stairs to carry out her master's order.

Draco meanwhile dressed in record time, and only slowed in order to assure that his hair was perfectly in place before he trekked down to find his mother. Hair might not be of particular importance to most people, but to the Malfoys it was vital that it be perfect looking at all times. On his way through the Manor, several thoughts passed through Draco's head. First were the rebellious ones which prepared themselves for an argument should Narcissa scold him for sleeping in. After all, he was 18, it was his life and he could do whatever he pleased, including sleep late. After that thought however, weightier thoughts took precedence; Draco realized that he could not remember the last time he had seen his mother, and though she wasn't as affectionate or loving as some mothers tended to be, he did care for her, and he knew she cared for him.

Draco saw Narcissa standing in the entryway as he reached the top of the stairs. She stood tall and proud, her long blonde hair was pinned up in an elegant bun. She wore a classy set of midnight blue robes, which were much more formal than most women would wear even for special occasions; however that sort of attire was typical for Narcissa, so it was nothing special for Draco to see. She smiled at him, revealing her perfect peal white teeth, "Draco darling, it's wonderful to see you again!"

"Mum!" Draco exclaimed with a bit of exaggeration "what are you doing home so unexpectedly?"

"Now Draco," chided Narcissa with a light laugh and a wave of her hand, "is it a crime for a mother to wish to surprise her son after being away from him so long?"

"Of course not," answered Draco with a grin. He stepped forward and they gave each other a brief hug along with a small kiss on each cheek.

Narcissa smiled at her son and then stepped back to look him over, "Look at you! You seem to be taking care of yourself well," she commented after a moment.

"Yes," Draco nodded.

"Aside from sleeping in much too late of course."

Draco chose to respond to his mother's comment with just a roll of his eyes.

Narcissa nodded as if he had agreed with her. "Mimi!" she called.

Mimi came racing into the room, bowing deeply once she entered, "Yes Madam?"

"Fetch Draco and I some tea, and prepare some fruit for Draco's breakfast."

"Yes Madam!" Mimi squeaked and dashed away towards the kitchen.

Draco opened his mouth to argue that he would much prefer some bacon and eggs, but before he could get a word out, Mimi was gone. Instead he just sighed and followed Narcissa over to the sitting area.

Narcissa seated herself elegantly in a high-backed armchair while Draco flopped down into the couch. "Now Draco, straighten up. You were not raised to slouch around like a slug."

Draco made sure he huffed loud enough for his mother to hear his annoyance with her orders, but nevertheless he straightened up so that he was sitting in the rigid manner he had been taught to all his life. Whether Narcissa heard Draco huffing, she made no indication of it, so they both let it go.

"So Mother," Draco began after a rather lengthy pause, "how was France?"

"Just lovely dear just lovely," smiled Narcissa, "first I toured the countryside, and after that I spent quite a bit of time with my good friend Marie. She happened to be having a family reunion while I was visiting, so I had the pleasure of meeting several of her relatives."

"Is that so?" drawled Draco. He was already resisting the urge to slump back in the couch, and he could tell that he was in for a long boring conversation. He mentally prepared himself for a full day of boring stories about someone else's family of which he cared little, and would remember even less.

"Yes," Narcissa brightened and leaned forward in her chair indicating that she was eager to relay whatever exciting piece of gossip she had discovered.

However, her story was then interrupted by the appearance of two trays, one bearing a tea set, and the other a large plate of fruit, which seemed to have floated into the room on their own accord. Mimi and another house-elf lowered the trays to the table and gazed up at Draco. "Is you wanting anything else Master?" Mimi squeaked in a quiet voice, as though she were afraid speaking too loudly would harm Narcissa's delicate ears.

Again Draco opened his mouth to order the breakfast he wanted, but again Narcissa beat him to the punch, "no that will be all." She sent an arrogant glare down her nose at the elves and shooed them away with an impatient wave of her hand. The elves squeaked and stumbled over themselves as they rushed to get out of the room.

Draco frowned at his mother; it wasn't as though he cared about how she spoke to the house-elves, it was that she was already stealing control of his own decisions away from him. She had just arrived and already he felt as though she was treating him like a child, instead of respecting him like the man he was.

Narcissa meanwhile prepared herself a cup of tea and began speaking without once glancing up at Draco. "As I was saying, at the reunion, Marie was kind enough to introduce me to her niece, Adrienne who is just the same age as you."

Draco paused with an orange slice halfway to his mouth, he already didn't like where this conversation was going. But as he did not want to make a big deal out of what was at the moment nothing, he chose to hold his tongue.

Narcissa paused to take a sip of tea while at the same time lifting her eyes towards Draco. When she set her cup back down, Draco saw a curious smile beginning to form at the corner of her lips. He definitely did not like the look of that. "She is a very beautiful girl Draco," Narcissa continue, this time maintaining relentless eye contact with her son. "She has the most gorgeous raven hair, and her family is naturally very well connected and well to do."

Draco did not know what to say, so to spare himself the trouble, he stuffed a large piece of melon into his mouth and chewed it very slowly.

Narcissa meanwhile let out a small chuckle and took another sip of her tea. "Adrienne was very interested in hearing all about you of course."

Draco swallowed everything in his mouth, which felt rather painful going down his throat.

Narcissa chose to remain ignorant of her son's subtle actions, "And when she mentioned that she would love to meet you, I took the opportunity to inviting her to the Manor next week."

Draco, who had just begun swallowing a strawberry, began to choke when he heard that pronouncement. After a good couple minutes in which he spent coughing, he managed to swallow the strawberry, and turned to glare at his mother.

Narcissa meanwhile, had remained completely impassive throughout Draco's choking fit and was now contentedly sipping her tea once more.

Draco stood up indignantly, "Mother how could you do such a thing? I have a girlfriend, and I am not interested in meeting any snobby French girls that you see fit to set me up with!"

"Why Draco I didn't know you were dating anyone, who is she?" Narcissa seemed totally unperturbed by Draco's reaction.

"The same girl I've been dating since sixth year Mother, remember, Hermione."

Narcissa frowned as set her cup back on the tray, "You mean that _muggleborn _girl from Hogwarts?"

Draco rolled his eyes, and did his best to overlook the way his mother had said the word muggleborn, "Yes Mother, her name is Hermione. I've only been dating her for nearly two years, what makes you think I would stop now?"

"Well, I just assumed that whole _muggleborn_ phase was something you were doing to rebel against your Father."

Draco glared at his mother; his temper was beginning to boil. "Muggleborn phase!" he spat. "It's not a phase Mum! Hermione and I love each other, and nothing you can do, and no one you can introduce me to is going to change that! Besides, I thought you were against all of Lucius' muggleborn hating attitudes."

Narcissa sat viewing her fuming son curiously as if trying to make a decision, finally she spoke. "I was against my only son endangering his life by becoming a Death Eater. However, that does not mean I am happy about you continuing a relationship with a muggleborn now that Lucius is gone."

Draco stood flabbergasted and glaring at his mother. "Well Mother, I am sorry, but I do not care whether my relationship with Hermione makes you happy or not, I love her and she loves me, and when she comes over tonight, I hope you see that and show her the proper respect she deserves."

Narcissa gasped and stood up as well, "you allow her to enter this house!"

"Of course I do! She's my girlfriend! And she's coming over tonight at 6:00, we're going out to dinner and then she's spending the night."

Narcissa looked scandalized. "At least tell me that she is sleeping in one of the guest rooms."

Draco sneered, "No mother, she's not."

Narcissa's eyes flashed, she opened her mouth as if to speak but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again. Finally, after apparently going through some major internal deliberation, she spoke. Her tone was for the most part genial, but her face was livid, "come now Draco! Be reasonable! Don't you think it's time you left this silly muggleborn infatuation you've developed behind? Your father is gone now; you do not have to prove anything to him anymore."

Were the situation different, Draco might have considered his mother's tone calm, however in the present circumstance, he found her tone and words to be condescending; he felt as though she was mocking him. "I _never_ dated Hermione to prove anything to Lucius or anyone else! I'm with Hermione because I love her," Narcissa made a noise of indignation to interrupt, but Draco refused to allow her to. "And you should be down on your knees thanking her because if it wasn't for Hermione then Lucius would still be here and I would be standing beside him in a circle of Death Eaters bowing to the Dark Lord right now! Hermione did what you could never do; she saved me from Lucius, and then she saved me again from the Dementor's Kiss, she is my everything and nothing you can do or say can change that!"

Narcissa's blue eyes turned to ice when Draco told her that Hermione had succeeded where she had failed. The idea that some woman, muggleborn pureblood or otherwise, was more important to her son than she was rocked her to the core. "How dare you disrespect me!" she growled Narcissa. "I am your mother, and nothing will ever change that, not even your little muggleborn!"

With that Narcissa swept out of the room and up the stairs, presumably to her room. Draco sneered at her retreating back, but was too enraged with her to speak so instead he stormed out of the house, slamming the door hard behind him. From the front porch, he apparated to the back of the house into the room full of outdoor supplies. He yanked his broom off the shelf, kicked the door open and flew off in a blur. He didn't slow down until the Manor was nothing more than a speck on the horizon.

Having his mother control what he ate and how he sat was one thing, but her interfering with his relationship with Hermione was unacceptable. Draco flew around for quite a while; in particular he did several nearly vertical dives which got his mind off his problems and his adrenaline racing. Finally after a particularly dangerous dive when he nearly collided into the ground, Draco leveled off, slowed down and took some time to think.

"She has no right to control what I do!" he confirmed to himself out loud. "And I won't let her talk down to Hermione!" he added after a moment. He would always stand by Hermione, but still, he did care for his mother, and deep down he wanted her and Hermione to get along. "I'll just have to make her see how wonderful Hermione is or else..."

Or else he didn't know what he would do yet, but it would be something drastic that was for sure. Draco continued flying for so long that he lost track of the time. But once he realized he was only flying in order to avoid talking to Narcissa, he forced himself to go home. Draco groaned as he eased his broom back towards the Manor. This wasn't going to be easy; Narcissa was every bit as stubborn as he was, although he had always felt that she had a more open mind than Lucius, so Draco held onto that little bit of hope that she would eventually see things his way.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Bye guys!" Hermione dashed out of Grimmauld Place, slamming the door behind her before either Harry or Ron could respond. She didn't have time to stop because she was already running way behind schedule.

It was Saturday, and things had been going well for the entire week. Hermione was getting better by the day at occlumency, and was now at the point where Kingsley could not see any of her thoughts, although it still cost her tremendous effort. She had been managing to juggle all her time commitments pretty well, and though she still felt like he was not quite satisfied with something Draco had not questioned or accused her of anything all week. They were getting along well and she was very thankful for that because her defenses were always weakest around him and she was not confident that she would be able to close her mind to him should he decide to probe into it.

The one thing she had fallen behind on was her Order task, she had planned to begin working on it that morning, but between not knowing where to start and not wanting to add more stress to her workload, she had in a very un-Hermione-like fashion, put it off. However, after sleeping late and allowing herself to get distracted by an exciting game of exploding snap between Harry and Ron she could put it off no longer. She was meeting Draco for dinner, then spending the night, so she had a very limited amount of time and plenty to get done.

Dumbledore had warned her that the Ministry was not the most secure place for information "there are spies everywhere" he had warned them all at a meeting earlier that week. So, rather than head to the Ministry, she went instead to the Wizarding Public Library and Hall of Records in London. She had to travel by muggle means because she was not quite certain what it looked like, and the last thing she wanted to do would be to apparate outside of it and startle any muggles passing by. She didn't allow herself pause to think until she was seated in a car of the Underground, and then she only stopped to think because it was unavoidable.

She began by looking over a wizarding map of London. She made sure not to let the muggles see it, just in case they noticed certain areas of the map changing color, or her current route moving in a golden dotted line across the paper. She took note of the stop she was looking for, and then reviewed where she had to go from there.

The underground came to a halt at the next stop, and more muggles stepped on board. It was getting too crowded to keep the map out without someone noticing, so Hermione hastily folded it up and returned it to her back pack. As she waited she closed her eyes and went over her plan for the day. 'Alright,' she said to herself. 'I'll start out in the magical creatures section and go from there.' She nodded to herself. Her only intention for the afternoon was to get as much info about the magical creature groups and whereabouts as possible. She could leave the concern for how to contact them for another day. She wasn't sure how long it would take her to find all the information she needed anyway, though since Dumbledore didn't already have it, she figured it would turn out being more difficult than it seemed.

She was so deep in thought that she nearly missed her stop. Luckily she glanced up just in time and managed to get off the train before the doors shut her in. She took a moment to go over the directions in her head, and then made her way out of the station up to the London street. There were muggles bustling all around, but none took any particular notice of the witch amongst them. It was times like this, when she was surrounded by muggles that she was most thankful for being a muggle-born because unlike many pure blooded witches and wizards, she knew how to blend right in. Hermione walked a long way down the street into a much less populated road. Here there was a large warehouse which looked like it should be condemned. Hermione looked to both sides of the street to be sure no muggles would see her before taking a breath and stepping through a seemingly locked door.

When she stepped through to the other side she was greeted by a cavernous hall, which was dimly lit and had a musty smell of old parchment. The room was filled with shelves of books, and Hermione could hear the sounds of people browsing through the books. On the back wall, there was a gigantic clock, Hermione gulped as the minute hand moved forward, it was as if the clock was taunting her by reminding her how little time she had. Directly in front of her, there was a desk with an elderly witch sitting and writing on a sheet of parchment. Hermione glanced to the side of the hall as she walked towards the witch, and she saw no less than ten hallways leading out of the main room most likely leading to more rooms filled with books Hermione decided.

She smiled at the old witch and whispered "excuse me" when she reached the desk. Though her voice was quiet as a whisper, the words echoed within the hall, and seemed to take an inordinately long time to fade away.

"Yes, how may I help you today dear?" The witch removed her spectacles from her nose as she turned her kind face to Hermione.

"I'm looking for some records on magical creatures," Hermione answered.

"I see, are you looking for any specific type of magical creature?"

Hermione paused, she could not tell the woman exactly what information she needed, but she didn't want to sound silly by answering no. "Not really, I'm actually doing a report about several types of magical creatures."

"Very well then, the records section on magical creatures is right over there, seventh door down that wall. We also have general reference books on many creatures here in the main library if you care too look. If you need any help, you may ask the witch or wizard attending that room, and if you cannot find them, you may always come out here and ask me."

"I'll do that, thank you very much!" Hermione smiled and then made her way to the seventh door like the witch had instructed.

Hermione took one step into the room and felt as though she had just entered the forbidden forest. The long bookshelves were as tall as trees, and the light from the windows and torches created long eerie shadows along the floor and bookshelves. Immediately Hermione found herself faced with a very real problem. On each the shelves were 'X's', the number of 'X's' on each shelf seemed to increase as she looked down the line of shelves, but other than that, there seemed to be no indication of how the books were organized. 'Great, how am I supposed to find anything when I don't even know where to start looking' she wondered as a feeling of exasperation hit her.

With no other idea as to how to begin, she took a step in between the two shelves which were directly in front of her. She instantly felt enveloped in darkness, and the shelves were so close together that it was rather uncomfortable. Taking slow steps, she made her way down the isle of books, she browsed the titles along either side of her as if she expected the information she needed to magically jump right out in front of her.

Alas, no such luck, she reached the opposite end of the shelves and was no closer to finding what she needed. The only thing she had found which was at all helpful was the books seemed to be organized alphabetically first by topic, and then by title. However, even that didn't entirely make sense because there seemed to be several topics missing, and she could not figure out why they were not there.

Hermione groaned, feeling that this task was going to take much longer than she had anticipated. She marched down another row of shelves, intending to ask the witch in the lobby for help. But when she reached the end of this row, she found herself face to face with a small desk upon which a large book, a stack of parchment and some small used quills were settled. Above the desk was a large poster with Roman Numerals listed vertically and types of magical creatures listed next to them. With a curious look, Hermione read a few lines which were written at the bottom of the poster;

_If you do not know the Ministry rating of your desired magical creatures, please consult the index below._

"Oh!' gasped Hermione, suddenly understanding the meaning of the 'X's' on the shelves, as well as why some topics seemed to be missing in the shelf she had passed. Those creatures must have been a different Ministry rating.

Hermione removed the sheet of parchment Dumbledore had given her with the names of all the creature groups she needed to talk to. One by one, next to each name, she wrote down the Ministry classification. Hermione sighed when she finished her list, she had 18 different creatures to figure out how to get in contact with, many of which included multiple groups in different locations around Europe; this was going to take much longer than she'd hoped. She glanced down at her watch; she'd already been here for nearly an hour, which left her with at most three hours to find what she needed. After she left here, she had to stop off at home to drop off her information, get her things, and get ready before apparating to Draco's Manor for the night.

"Better get to it then," she said to herself as she made her way down the long line of shelves to the appropriate one.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione dropped her quill when she finally completed the section she was copying. She had been working so diligently that she completely lost track of time, even so she was only about a third of the way through the list. She had expected to be at least halfway done by the end of this afternoon, but clearly she would have to come two if not three more times to finish gathering all the necessary information.

She hadn't had trouble finding the records one she discovered how they were organized, but reading through them and making sure that she copied down everything correctly was time consuming. She wrote down everything Dumbledore had requested and then some. Dumbledore wanted information on how to contact the difference species so she took notes on greeting customs, behaviors to watch out for, etc. That was a lengthy process in itself, but she found that with some species, customs differed depending on where they were from. Since Dumbledore wanted to contact creatures from all over Europe, Hermione had to make sure that when there were variations, she copied all the correct information for each group within the species.

In addition to that, some species had been noted to have allied themselves with notable wizards in the past in response to wizarding conflicts while others had remained resolutely uninvolved. Hermione felt this sort of information was very valuable in that it would help give the Order a better idea of which creatures they should go to for help first, which were likely to be against them, and which were unlikely to join either side of the struggle.

Hermione meandered over to the appropriate shelf and returned the book. She then glanced down at her watch to see if she had enough time to go through one more book before she left for her date with Draco. Her heart nearly stopped and she had to do a double take when she saw the time displayed on her watch. She tapped at the face and shook her wrist, and then checked the time again. Surely it couldn't possibly be correct could it? But a second glance at the watch only served to add a sickening feeling of dread to her stomach. She stood frozen in shock watching the second hand charge ahead as it always did, the precious seconds ticking into the past lost forever. Finally she snapped out of it, and clutching onto the remote hope that her watch was wrong, she dashed to the door in order to check the large clock in the main room. But her heart dropped into her stomach when that clock revealed the same distressing hour that her watch had, it was 6:57, which means that she was already nearly an hour late for her date with Draco.

"Oh no oh no oh no," she muttered to herself in an unending string as she raced across the room to gather her notes. She stuffed everything into her bag, not caring the least bit if the sheets of parchment wrinkled or tore. She then shouldered the bag and charged out of the room as fast as she could. She didn't even bother to check whether or not the street was vacant of muggles before she disapparated. She reappeared outside of Grimmauld Place a moment later, thrust the door open and raced through the hall, and up the stairs.

"Hermione is that you?" came the voice of Ron from somewhere on the lower level.

"Yes" she cried back breathlessly. She dumped the contents out of her bag onto her bed, and fumbled around her room packing herself an overnight bag with clothes for the following day.

"Weren't you going over Malfoy's tonight?" this time it was Harry speaking, and he seemed to be shouting to her from the foot of the stairs.

"Yes! And I lost track of time and now I'm late!" answered Hermione as she changed into something more presentable. Originally she had planned on showering and taking some extra time to look pretty, but now she was just trying to get out the door as fast as she possibly could. She knew she probably looked a mess, but now it was nearing 7:20 and she didn't want to think of how angry Draco was going to be when she finally showed up.

"Bye guys I'll see you tomorrow night!" Hermione shouted to Harry and Ron as she raced down the stairs and back out the front door. From Grimmauld Place, she apparated to the front steps of the Manor where she finally paused to take a series of deep breaths. She ran her fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to straighten it out, and then she lifted her fist and knocked on the door. She held her breath awaiting Draco's reaction to her extreme and unexplainable tardiness. Oh how in the world was she going to explain this…

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco and Narcissa had spent most of the rest of the afternoon apart from each other. But at 5:30, knowing that Hermione would be arriving in half an hour, Draco sought Narcissa out to talk some sense into her. He finally found her in the conservatory, staring out at the grounds watching the sun set below the horizon. "Mother?" he spoke in a calm tone.

Narcissa turned to face him, her expression stern but for the most part unreadable.

Draco walked into the room and stopped a few feet away from her. "Mother Hermione will be here in half an hour and I would really appreciate it if I could introduce her to you. Then you can see for yourself how wonderful she is."

Narcissa remained silent, and Draco was beginning to loose his patience with her.

"Mother, I care about you, you know that, but I love Hermione. You're both important to me, and it's also important to me that you meet her. I think once you do you'll really like her."

Narcissa stared at her son; the emotions she was experience within were not showing on her face. She could not remember the last time she saw him express any emotion like he was now; it had not been since he was a young child. For the first time she saw her son for the man he was as opposed to the boy she had raised, her baby. He was going to do what he wanted no matter what she said, this she was sure of because both she and Lucius had been stubborn as well. Finally, she consented with a sigh, "very well Draco, I do not approve of this…match. However if it is so important to you, I will agree to meet her."

Draco smiled, "Thank you mother. She will be here at six, so just make sure you're somewhere nearby."

Narcissa nodded and returned her attention to the grounds outside the window.

Draco grinned to himself as he got ready in his room. He knew that Narcissa did not want to meet Hermione, but he was happy that she had agreed to anyway. He was sure that Hermione would be able to alter his mother's view of muggleborns just as she had changed his.

When 5:55 rolled around, both Draco and Narcissa were seated in the study. Narcissa glanced at the clock above the fireplace mantle every two seconds, for she felt that her son's girlfriend should have arrived by now. Yet she managed to keep her mouth shut until 6:05, "Should have been here by now shouldn't she?"

Draco, who had been unable to ignore Narcissa's frequent glances at the clock, looked a bit uncomfortable now. The last thing he needed to prove his point against Narcissa was for Hermione to be late. "Her roommates probably held her up," he answered quickly, while making a mental note to kill Potter and Weasley if indeed that had been the case. "I'm sure she'll be here any minute."

But the minutes ticked away, and Draco's discomfort increased with each passing minute, 'where is she?' he thought. Had Narcissa not been home, Draco would have been plagued with worries for Hermione's safety, for she was never late, however with his mother watching, hit thoughts turned to anger instead.

At 6:30, Narcissa's arrogant huffs, and haughty sighs drove him to the point where he could not sit still. Without a word he got up and began pacing around the entryway.

"Quite disrespectful for her to be this late without so much as an owl or quick stop through the floo," Narcissa commented in a snobbish tone.

Draco chose not to respond, mostly because he could think of nothing to say. He stopped pacing and looked towards the study when he heard the sharp click of Narcissa's heels on the floor.

"I, for one, cannot sit here all night waiting for some disrespectful muggleborn to finally have the decency to arrive. You deserve to be treated better than this Draco, much better. Someday soon I hope you realize that." Narcissa took several sharp steps away before stopping to say one last thing. "And Adrienne will still be arriving on Wednesday; perhaps she will remind you of how you ought to be respected by a woman."

Draco stared after Narcissa long after she departed an odd feeling of dejection and anger overcoming him, Draco strode back into the study and slumped down into the couch. It was now past 7, "where the hell is she?" he muttered aloud. As he sat there he couldn't help but mull over Narcissa's words about Hermione being disrespectful and how he deserved to be treated better. As much as a part of him wanted to defend Hermione, at the moment the majority of him felt that Narcissa had a point. Especially after all Draco had gone through the past two years, he deserved to be respected more than this, didn't he? Of course, anger breeds suspicion, so Draco's thoughts returned to the times when he had felt Hermione was hiding something from him. Before he felt that he had given her the benefit of the doubt, but now…well he'd see what she had to say and go from there.

At around half past seven, a knock at the door snapped Draco to attention, his face as cold and blank as stone, "Nice of you to finally show up," he spat before the door was even fully opened.

Hermione stepped inside and began talking immediately, "Draco I'm so sorry! I was working and I completely lost track of time!"

Hermione dropped her bag to the floor and stepped forward to kiss Draco but he backed away and headed out the door, "whatever let's just go," he muttered.

Hermione followed him crestfallen; she was in deeper trouble than she thought if Draco refused a kiss. "Draco please don't be mad at me," she begged.

"Humph," was Draco's only response before he grabbed her arm and apparated the both of them to the restaurant entrance. Without a word to Hermione, Draco stomped through the entrance to the witch at the front. "Table for two," he demanded.

The witch's cheerful smile faltered upon meeting Draco's icy glare, "yes umm, right this way please." She led them to a small table in a quiet part of the restaurant, handed them their menus and left, clearly eager to get away from Draco.

Draco sat silent and resolute behind his menu while Hermione sent him pleading looks. She knew that he was furious with her, but this cold silence was so unbearable and so reminiscent of the old Draco that she would have almost preferred seeing him fly into a violent rage. At least if he was yelling at her, she would know what he was thinking.

Hermione couldn't even concentrate on something as trivial as the menu because she was so distraught over Draco's behavior. She tried to read the words in front of her, but they might as well have been written in gibberish for all the good it did. She was drowning so deep in her thoughts that it took a very loud "Excuse me Miss!" from the waiter to get her attention and bring her back to reality.

"What?" she asked with a blank look.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter repeated slowly and with an irritated edge as if he was speaking to a difficult child.

"Oh right, umm," she cast a hopeless glance at Draco. "I'll just have whatever he's having, and a glass of water."

"Very well, what can I get for you tonight sir?" the waiter turned to Draco.

Hermione watched Draco's mouth moving, but nothing except meaningless noises reached her ears. It didn't matter what he had ordered, she had lost her appetite anyway. Once the waiter had taken their menus, there was nothing blocking their view of each other save the small candle in the center of the table which was intended to promote a romantic atmosphere. Hermione gazed at Draco with wide and hopeful eyes, willing him to look at her. He could feel her gaze, but he refused to concede to her wishes, he was observing the other diners, determined to look anywhere except at her.

Their drinks came and still neither had uttered a word. Draco took a large swig of his fire whiskey, but Hermione did not even touch her water. Her throat was parched, but she couldn't have cared less. All she wanted to do was to end this terrible silence. "Draco please say something," she begged, a slight plea in her voice.

Finally he directed his gaze towards her, and Hermione instantly felt the temperature drop. "What would you like me to say?" He asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"Anything," she insisted. "I know you're mad, so yell if you want, curse, scream I don't care just please say something!"

"I suppose I could do that," Draco shrugged. His cool calmness was very disturbing to Hermione. "But I passed the point of yelling sometime around 6:30. By 7 I decided that it's not worth it."

His words stung her deep, penetrating the very core of her heart. 'What wasn't worth it exactly?' she wondered. She frowned and could feel tears beginning to prickle at the corners of her eyes. "Please say you don't mean that Draco, please say you care, I love you with all my heart I swear to you I do. I was just so focused that I completely lost track of time. You know how I get when I'm working hard; I just…lose sense of everything else."

Draco now had his frown fixed directly at Hermione; he refused to lower his gaze, and hardly ever blinked. "I see, well what were you working so hard at then? What was so important that it caused you to be an hour and a half late without even having the decency to send a note or anything to let me know?" Draco's voice had steadily risen as he spoke, which told Hermione that a part of him was ready to burst. She didn't know how long it would be before something set him off, but she knew that sometime over the course of the evening he was going to explode. So for the second time that day, Hermione found herself counting the seconds tick by in horror.

"It was just a project that Kingsley has me working on for auror training," Hermione said in an off-hand manner, deciding that it wasn't so much of a lie. She was to report her progress with the task to Kingsley, so that was basically the same thing she told herself.

"Really?" Draco over-exaggeratedly feigned interest. "Are Potter and the Weasel working on it too? Or what about _Michael_?"

Hermione gasped indignantly and furrowed her brows at the mention of Michael. Draco knew she hated him, so why was he bringing him up now? "No our mentors gave us individual projects."

"I see," Draco continued in the same tone. Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their dinners. It was a shame that neither of them had much of an appetite anymore because their food looked delicious. Draco lifted his utensils and cut himself a small slice of meat. "So tell me about this incredibly exciting special project," Draco raised his eyebrows as if he cared, ate his food and still managed to maintain his cold ruthless stare.

"It's nothing," Hermione attempted to end the conversation. She was spearing random vegetables with her fork, but she did not feel like eating, all she wanted to do was lighten the mood and have a pleasant evening with her boyfriend.

But now that she'd got him going, there was no stopping Draco. "Oh but it must be!" his tone was mocking now. "If it wasn't important, it wouldn't have made you an hour and a half late." His tone was much angrier now, and Hermione decided that she would rather be discussing anything else.

"Please Draco," Hermione dropped her fork to the table, "I sad I was sorry! I lost track of time. I just want to have a nice dinner with you, what do I have to do to get you to move past this?"

"Tell me about the project" Draco paused to give her time to respond. When she didn't he continued, "what _important assignment_ does Shacklebolt have you slaving away on?" He paused again sensing that he was pushing her to the breaking point. "Is it about the dark arts?" Draco's determination grew along with Hermione's silence. "Come on Hermione, what's the big secret?" Now Draco's patience reached its breaking point, "tell me!" he roared causing heads to turn.

"I can't!" Hermione cried out.

Draco stared at her, anger burning in his gray eyes, "why can't you tell me?"

"I just can't," she answered dispiritedly.

"Why not, you're not working in the Department of Mysteries your work shouldn't be secret. For God's sake you're just a trainee they don't actually give you anything important to do!"

"I'm sorry Draco, but they made me promise not to tell you!" Hermione's hand flew to her mouth as soon as she spoke, knowing it was too late. She had already said too much.

"_What_? They wouldn't let you tell _me_?" Draco furrowed his brows, "you are working on something wit the Dark Arts aren't you? That's why they won't let you tell me, they don't trust me."

Hermione sat silently with her hand over her mouth and stray tears running down her cheeks. She didn't know what to say and she could not think of a single thing that would be able to get her out of this mess. She almost wished that Draco would use Legilmency against her to find the truth because she doubted that she would be able to keep any thought hidden at the moment.

"You don't have to listen to them Hermione, they don't control everything you do. But of course you're smart enough to know that, so that must mean that _you_ don't trust me."

Hermione sat shocked with her mouth agape, shaking her head slowly, "no," she whispered.

"What's the matter, think I'll revert back to my old ways if I had some inside information, is that it?"

"No Draco I swear that's not it at all!"

Draco sneered at her, "You can't tell me what you're doing, you refuse to tell me where you live with Potter and Weasley, shit Hermione I don't know that the hell to think about you anymore!" Without warning, he stood up. He removed a large handful of gold from his pocket and threw it on the table to cover the check. He shook his head at her, and began to walk away.

But he had barely taken three steps when he turned around and walked back up to her. For a brief moment, until she saw the fury in his face, she thought he might have changed his mind. Yet as soon as she saw his expression, she shrank back in fear.

"By the way," he spat. "My mother came home this morning, and she spent all day mad at me for dating a muggleborn, but I defended you. I told her how great and wonderful you are and convinced her to meet you so she could see for herself. I defended you and this shit is what I get in return!" This time Draco turned and stomped the entire way out of the restaurant.

Hermione broke down and cried right there in the middle of the restaurant. She didn't care about the other diners staring at her, all she cared about was the anger and pain she'd seen in his eyes and heard in his voice. Unable to take it anymore, she followed his lead and left the restaurant, she scanned in vain up and down the street for any sign of him though she knew he wouldn't be there. She didn't know what to do, should she go to the Manor and beg him to forgive her, or should she go back home?

Hermione walked up and down the street for a very long time, her mind going back and forth between the two choices. In the end she decided to go back to Grimmauld Place tonight, and deal with Draco tomorrow when he hopefully would be a bit calmer. She apparated to the house, and slowly opened the door, and shut it behind her with a loud click. She shuffled through the hall to the stairs, and climbed them as if she was moving in slow motion. The events of the night replayed themselves over and over in her head, had Draco broken up with her? She sobbed at the mere thought.

Hermione was thankful that Harry and Ron had apparently gone out for the evening because she didn't want either of them to see her cry. She shuffled into her room in a daze and fell onto her bed face first. Once there, all she could do was cry. She was tired of this; she was tired of crying, tired of fighting with Draco, tired of everything being so difficult. 'If I could just tell Draco about the Order, then everything would be fine!' she argued to herself. 'I should be able to tell him! He's proven himself trustworthy. Just because he doesn't want to fight doesn't mean that he's one of them.

Hermione broke down again as the arguments that her friends would use against her flooded her mind. After a while her thoughts muddled together in one miserable blur and Hermione was left to cry herself to sleep.

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I really don't know how everyone will react to this chapter, so I would love to hear your thoughts in a review! I hope you felt it was worth the wait! 

_To all my wonderful readers and reviewers, you each get a box of chocolate frogs, better eat them before they hop away! _


	8. Confrontations

**Disclaimer:** _sigh_ Nope still not, nor will I ever be JK Rowling, so I don't, nor will I ever own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **_gasp_ Two updates in one month, how exciting! I hope you're all as excited about that I as I am, cause it feels wonderful to be writing regularly again. And for the first time I think I have a really good idea of how I want to progress through the story (I think). I was thrilled with the number of reviews for the last chapter thank you all so much for sticking with the story:o)

_Comedy gal _– good luck on your community service project, I hope you finish it soon. I'm happy that you like the characterization, and I hope I manage to keep it up through this fic, thanks for the review!  
_Unwritt3n xx _– aww thank you! I would love to be a writer someday…daydreams for a moment Yeah, I decided to put Lost on hold because I'm trying to turn it into a deeper fic, so the updates would take longer anyway. But trying to work on both at once was messing with my head cause I would forget which fic I was working on in terms of what the characters were going through and how they would react. But as soon as this fic is done, then I will definitely get back to work on Lost ;o)  
_Blueeyedchibi_ – aww thank you, yeah last chapter wasn't a very happy chapter for Draco or Hermione was it! Maybe this one will be better for them…. Thanks for the review!  
_Undercovervampire _– glad you thought last chapter was worth the wait, and I hope you enjoy this one too! Thanks for the review!_  
13BlacKAnGELs_ – Hermione definitely wants to tell him, maybe she'll get the chance to this chapter… And about Adrienne, well we'll see how Draco deals with her when she gets here ;o) Thanks for the review!  
_The mask he wears _– lol glad I could make you laugh, and I'm very happy that you felt the chapter was worth the wait, that's what I like to hear.  
_Piper_ – most of the fics I read portray Narcissa as being nice to Hermione too, and honestly I didn't anticipate her even being in this story, it just kinda happened one day when I was working though my writers block. But that's what I like about her character, we don't know much about her from the books, so as fan fic writers we can portray her however we want. Glad you liked it and thanks for the review!  
_Modaprincessa _– aww thank you very much! I hope you like this chapter too :o)  
_Dreamingstar213_ – aww I'm sorry you're having the same problem I had with real life getting in the way, I hope you're able to get back to your fic soon! Thank you very much for the review!  
A walk in the dark – lol no worries, I wouldn't have her pair off with Michael (it was hard enough having her date Ron in the last fic!) But as for her and Draco getting back together…well we'll see what happens with that as we go ;o) Thanks for the review!  
_mOv1aNg3l_ – It definitely isn't Hermione's fault, but we all know Draco can be a bit stubborn, we'll have to see what happens and what his thoughts are I suppose. Thanks for the review!  
_Pegasusbabi_ – Draco becoming part of the Order, that is an idea…but I won't tell you whether or not it will happen cause that would spoil what I have planned for later on. Glad you liked it and thanks for the review!  
_Darkangelxx _– I feel very reassured thank you :o) And I completely agree, there's no fun if the relationship is without problems, and this relationship is absolutely full of them! Lol Thanks for the review!  
_Elektra30_ – I'm so happy that you liked the chapter and the tension and everything. And I am sooooooo sorry about not reviewing your fic, but now that I have more time to write I have more time to read as well, so you can be expecting either lots of reviews, or one really long one sometime later this week when I have time to sit down and read your fic. I'm definitely looking forward to it:o)  
_Sunflower18_ – I know it sucks for both of them, but what's a romance without a little conflict ;o) Thanks for the review!  
_Lpark000_ – aww thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it!  
_Jaezi_ – Thanks! I'm very happy that you enjoyed it, and I hope you like this chapter too!

And now I present to you, Chapter 8…

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**Chapter 8: Confrontations**

The next morning, Hermione awoke to a killer headache, and a cat nestled on top of her. She was still wearing her clothes from the day before, her hair was a mess, her eyes bloodshot and her face pink and splotchy and she didn't even care. She carefully lifted Crookshanks off of her and then slumped down the stairs and set about making a cup of tea, more out of habit than for any other reason. It was what her mum had always done when someone was upset, "Nothing cheers you up like a good cup of tea," she would say.

But unfortunately for Hermione, the tea did nothing to help her foul depression. The herbal liquid just sat there in a steaming mug on the table in front of her while she stared intensely at nothing. Throughout the night, her brain had been in overdrive trying to come up with a solution that would sort out this whole mess without compromising any of her duties, friends, or responsibilities. But the only reasonable solution she had thought of would be to tell Draco about the Order. She wouldn't have to tell him everything, just the basic function of the Order and what her task was.

"I'm going to do it," she resolved out loud. "I'm going to tell Draco and finally be through with all this nonsense."

"Hermione? Is that you?" Ron asked through a yawn as he shuffled sleepily into the kitchen. "Thought you were over at Malfoy's." Ron began preparing his breakfast, completely oblivious to Hermione's current internal struggles.

"We had a fight," she answered in a small voice. She was not eager to discuss her troubles with Draco, especially with Ron who, as she was well aware, hated the subject.

Ron sat in a chair across from Hermione and took a large bite of food before noticing that something might be wrong with his friend. "Geeze Hermione, you look terrible!"

Hermione huffed in an un-amused fashion and rolled her eyes, "thanks Ron, very observant of you."

The last thing Ron wanted to do on a Sunday morning (or any time of any day) was to hear anything about Hermione's relationship with Malfoy. But, it was clear that Hermione needed something, so as one of her best friends, he sucked it up and prepared to listen. "Alright, tell me what happened," he sighed.

Hermione could tell from his tone, that Ron didn't want to hear about it, and frankly, she would rather not think about it. "I don't want to talk about it."

Ron was relieved that he wouldn't have to sit and listen to Hermione blab on about her ferret of a boyfriend, so he instantly forgot about his concern, and returned his attention to his meal. The two sat in silence, except for the sounds of Ron's eating, until Harry walked in. "Hey guys" he greeted. He was halfway into making breakfast when he stopped short, "wait a minute, Hermione what are you doing here?"

Hermione didn't respond right away, so Ron answered for her, "she and Malfoy had a fight."

"What about?" asked Harry, hoping that Hermione's constant and annoying drama with Malfoy would soon come to a close by way of a breakup.

"Don't know, said she didn't want to talk about it," Ron answered for her again.

Harry abandoned his breakfast and sat down next to Hermione, "you really should talk about it you know," he decided to pretend to be encouraging. "We've all seen what happens when you bottle things up, you tend to explode eventually, and it's better not to do that."

Hermione groaned, but knew Harry was right. Ron was rolling his eyes; he had thought that he'd avoided the Malfoy topic for the day. Hermione stared stubbornly into Harry's deep green eyes before giving in. "Fine, I'll start with the fact that my stupid Order task made me an hour and a half late for our date." There was an angry bite to Hermione's tone which caused the guys to exchange a cautious glance; perhaps Hermione was closer to her breaking point than she let on.

"So of course Draco is pissed, and asks me what I was doing, so I told him I was working on a project for training. He asked me what it was about…"

"You didn't tell him did you?" Harry interrupted looking alarmed.

"No I didn't," Hermione spat, "and that only made it angrier because he thinks I don't trust him. Then come to find out, his mother's returned home, and earlier they had had a fight because she doesn't want him dating me. He convinced her to meet me, and then I mess it up by being so late, so he was furious about that too I'm sure." Hermione shook her head in dejection, and her voice suddenly grew quiet and tired, as if she was ready to give up, "we didn't even make it through dinner, he was so angry that he left in the middle of it."

The boys made sympathetic noises and Harry rubbed his hand up and down her back. "You shouldn't let him get you down like this Hermione; he has no reason not to trust you."

"Yes he does!" Hermione argued, "I can't tell him what I'm working on, I can't tell him that I'm part of the Order, I can't even tell him where I live for gods sake! Think about it guys, would you be able to trust your girlfriend if you knew she was keeping stuff like that from you!"

Harry and Ron gave her guilty looks combined with noncommittal grunts.

"He's already prone to be more suspicious than the average person; I'm surprised he hasn't broken up with me yet with all the stuff he knows I keep from him." Hermione stopped short, unsure if last night had been a breakup or not. "I really thought about telling him the truth about the Order last night," she admitted quietly.

"No!" Harry argued right away, "you took an oath Hermione; Malfoy's not a part of the Order so he can't know!"

"Yeah, who knows what he would do with the information if you told him!" nodded Ron in agreement.

A split second later, Harry and Ron found out that that would probably not the right thing to say to Hermione at the moment. Her eyes flashed with fury and she leapt up out of her chair. "He wouldn't do anything with it Ron! You two know that he does not follow Voldemort, and that he would never betray my trust!"

"No Hermione," Harry challenged. "You _think_ you know that. To us he is and will always be nothing more than a spoiled little ferret who will take the easy way out whenever possible. _We_ know that Voldemort's come after him before, so what's to say he won't willing give up any information you trust him with in order to save his own skin if Voldemort decides to come after him again?"

"How can you say that!" Hermione fumed through clenched teeth, "After all he's gone through fighting Voldemort, you honestly think he'd just give up like that? Draco had proven himself just as trustworthy as any of us! He deserves to know the truth and I can't handle keeping it from him anymore! It's not fair to him or me!"

"You can't tell him Hermione, you took an oath," Harry answered sternly.

"Screw the stupid oath, I'm going to tell him, and I don't care whether you approve or not!" Without wasting a moment, or allowing them time to respond, Hermione disapparated out of the house.

"She can't be serious!" cried Ron aghast. "You don't really think she went to tell Malfoy do you?"

Harry didn't respond right away, though from his expression it was clear that he thought Hermione had done just that. After a moment he finally spoke, "we should contact Dumbledore. He'll be able to help us deal with Hermione, and he'll probably have to cast one hell of an obliviation charm on Malfoy after Hermione talks to him."

"Yeah, he's gonna be angry though. Who would have thought that Hermione would break an oath like that?" mused Ron.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Though he fared through the night considerably better than Hermione, Draco slept poorly as well. However, he did not regret anything he had said or done the night before, he felt his actions were completely justified. Draco did not trust many people, and he confided in even fewer. He did not enjoy making Hermione cry, but until she proved that she trusted him enough to confide in, he would never be fully satisfied.

While asleep, his thoughts had convinced him of one thing, despite all his questions and doubts, he still loved her, and even more than that he needed her. This realization frightened Draco considerably for it was something he'd never felt before. The feeling did excite a part of him, it made him feel uncharacteristically excited, almost giddy when he thought about her. But at the same time, a large part of him did not enjoy it. He did not want to feel that his happiness and well-being were dependent on someone else because then there was the risk that he could get hurt…like he felt now.

Draco groaned and rolled out of bed. Indecision and confusion flooded his mind, and he planned on ridding himself of both through a long steamy shower. If that didn't work, then maybe a morning flying session would help.

After Draco showered, he lounged around his room attempting to organize his thoughts. He was in no mood to go downstairs and risk facing Narcissa at the moment, so instead he remained shut up in his room planning out how he would deal with her. He would of course make up some excuse as to why Hermione was late and why she had gone home after their date. He refused to tell his mother the truth because in his mind that would be the same as admitting that she had been right, and his pride simply would not allow that no matter what the current evidence suggested. Anyway, deep down he believed that Hermione truly did trust him; he just wished she would be more open with him about what she was doing all the time.

It was something he planned on discussing with Hermione now that he was in a calmer state than he had been the previous night. Narcissa had just riled him up so much before their date that he would have probably snapped no matter what else happened, so he wasn't worried about the state of his relationship with Hermione. Hermione would come apologize to him, he was sure of that because he was sure that it was she who was in the wrong this time, not him. They'd talk it out, make up, and be together like they always did, it just seemed to be how they worked, and Draco had come to terms with that.

As had become habit whenever he thought about Hermione, Draco pulled the small box containing the gift he'd gotten in Australia out from the drawer of his bedside table. He opened the box, looked at the gift, closed it then opened it again. His thoughts were becoming too muddled to focus on any single one, he needed to get out. He closed the box, but this time, instead of returning it to the drawer; he placed it in his pocket. It wasn't a decision he made consciously really, but for some reason it felt right.

Draco made as little noise as possible when walking through the house so as to not alert Narcissa to his presence. As he passed the entryway to the breakfast room, he noticed that Hermione's bag was still on the floor by the door. Draco grudgingly picked it up, and after giving Mimi his breakfast order, he gave it to her to return to his room. He managed to make it all the way through breakfast without a sign of Narcissa, but as he was striding through the Manor towards the quidditch room, his luck ran out and he nearly collided straight into her.

"Good morning Draco," greeted Narcissa haughtily, a smug smirk forming at the corner of her lips.

"Morning Mother," nodded Draco. He tried to maneuver passed her so as to avoid questions, but Narcissa wouldn't have it.

"So where's your girlfriend Draco? I was so sorry not to meet her yesterday," Narcissa said, though she did not sound the least bit regretful.

"There was a change of plans, she has an important assignment due Monday for her auror training, and she needed to finish working on it today," Draco lied smoothly without missing a beat.

"Is that so?" Narcissa played along; though it was clear from her expression she wasn't buying it. "Well that's a shame."

"Yeah. Well, I'm going to go do some flying, so I'll see you later." Draco again attempted to escape, but his mother stepped towards him, preventing his departure yet again.

"Surely she could have spent the night and just left in the morning. That would not have taken too much time away from her day," she was pushing Draco, and he knew it.

"I suppose not, but it was her choice, I wasn't going to argue," Draco shrugged, and turned to walk away again.

But Narcissa had had enough beating around the bush, and she was in no mood for games. "Stop lying to me Draco Malfoy! That muggleborn is not here because you two had a fight because you know that she is not treating you the way a Malfoy deserves to be treated. Don't you dare think you can hide the truth from me! Draco can't you see she's using you? That she's only after you for your money?"

Draco whipped around and glared at his mother, there was a fire in his gray eyes that she had rarely seen before. "Hermione's not like that!" he roared.

"All women are like that Draco! Wake up and deal with it!" growled Narcissa, her eyes shining with rage, "The least you can do for yourself is date a woman who at least pretends to respect you."

Draco's glacial eyes glared at his mother; he was too enraged to speak for quite some time. After a moment he strode down the hall, but before leaving completely he turned back to face Narcissa. "You are wrong Mother," his voice was calm with a definite tone of finality which Narcissa had never heard him use with her before. "I _love_ Hermione…and I _hate_ you for trying to turn me against her." Without another word, Draco turned on his heel and strode purposefully out of the room, leaving Narcissa alone to ponder what she had done long after the echoing sound of her son's footsteps had faded away.

Draco felt oddly relieved as he mounted his broom and flew away from the Manor. It felt good to stand up to his mother finally, and it felt good to be honest with himself and vocal about what he was feeling. Draco was so elated that he even began forming thoughts of going to Hermione and telling her what he'd done before he remembered that he had no idea where she lived. That reminder did put a slight damper on his mood, but he decided he'd just tell her all about it when she came apologizing to him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione apparated directly from her kitchen to the steps of the Malfoy Manor. She did not allow herself time for doubts or second thoughts before knocking loudly on the door. Within moments it opened, and Hermione found herself smiling down at Mimi.

"Miss Hermione!" Mimi squealed with delight upon greeting Hermione. "Mimi is very happy to see you this morning Miss! Master Draco was very upset without Miss last night." Mimi gasped, clamped her hands over her mouth and blushed, clearly believing she had said too much.

Hermione was relieved that the house elf thought Draco had been missing her the night before. It gave her more confidence about approaching him successfully now. "Hello Mimi," Hermione gently spoke to the elf, "I'm very glad to see you as well. May I please come in and talk to Draco?"

"Ohh," Mimi lowered her head and shrunk down looking rather upset. Hermione, who had never seen such behavior from Mimi was quite alarmed. "I is very sorry Miss, but Master Draco is not home. It is only…"

"Elf! Who is at the door!" barked a shrill female voice from inside the Manor.

Mimi squeaked and quavered as if she'd just been struck. "It is only Master's mother, Madam Narcissa who is home now," Mimi whispered quickly to Hermione while pulling her ears down below her chin. Mimi then released her ears and called back to Narcissa in a voice which failed to conceal her fear, "It…It is Miss Hermione who is at the door Madam!"

Hermione was in the process of bending down to console Mimi when the sharp clicking of expensive heels on the hardwood floor stopped her. "Miss _Hermione_ is it," Narcissa drawled as she opened the door wider to reveal her entire figure to Hermione.

Hermione's breath caught in her chest as she viewed Draco's mother. The woman was exquisite, and gave off a very powerful air. She was dressed in a pale blue robe, which coupled with her proud demeanor gave her the cold appearance of an ice queen. Hermione mentally kicked herself for not taking the time to wash up and make herself more presentable before coming. Compared to Narcissa Malfoy's regal elegance, Hermione felt as if she looked like dirt, 'which is probably exactly how she sees me,' Hermione reminded herself morosely. "Good morning Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione attempted to sound more confident than she felt.

Narcissa smirked, but stepped back, silently beckoning Hermione to enter. Something in Hermione's head shouted at her to stay away, but her feet disobeyed and walked her into the entryway of the Manor. Narcissa closed the door solidly behind her, and Hermione flinched at the sound. She had the eerie feeling that she was being locked in a cage with no hopes of escape. The Manor seemed much more frightening and colder without Draco beside her. Off to the side she glimpsed Mimi, her tennis ball sized eyes were gazing at Hermione while her entire body shook with nerves. Hermione gulped before setting her eyes once again on Narcissa.

"So," Narcissa's voice was unfeeling and proud "_you_ are the one who has been tampering with my son's mind."

Hermione frowned indignantly, "If by that you mean to suggest that I am your son's girlfriend, then yes, you would be correct. My name is Hermione Granger." Her nose was in the air making her seem defiant and proud, she was not going to let Mrs. Malfoy intimidate her no matter how spectacular, proud, or cold the woman looked.

"And what makes you think my son would want to speak with you after the disrespect you showed him yesterday?" Narcissa sneered.

Hermione frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, "I came to apologize to him again, I am very sorry I was late and I wanted to straighten things out with him."

Narcissa laughed unkindly, "No, no my dear, arriving at 6:05 would have been late, you were nothing short of disrespectful, and I'm astonished my son even had the patience to wait as long as he did."

Hermione wanted to yell, but knowing it would hurt her more than it would help, she forced her voice to remain calm. "As I explained to Draco last night, I was working and I lost track of time…"

"I don't care for your petty excuses," Narcissa interrupted, her voice rising slightly. "But I suppose this sort of disrespect is what I should expect from a worthless _muggleborn_, not that it matters, now that you and Draco are no longer dating, he will never be so disrespected again."

"For someone who considers herself _elite_," countered Hermione before the entirety of what Narcissa said hit her. "Wait, what do you mean Draco and I are no longer dating? We only had a fight last night, we did not break up."

"You foolish girl, you honestly think that my son would waste his time with _you_ after last night. Certainly not! He is presently out entertaining a young lady named Adrienne whom I introduced him to yesterday when I arrived." Narcissa lied silkily.

"You can wish that we broke up all you want Mrs. Malfoy, but Draco and I know how to work through our problems, and even more importantly than that, we love each other!" Hermione argued, ignoring the sense of panic that was forming in her chest around her heart.

Narcissa huffed without amusement, "Perhaps he did not verbalize it to you so clearly, but rest assured, when a Malfoy walks out, the relationship is _over_ much in the same way this conversation is over." Narcissa stepped passed Hermione and threw open the door.

Hermione mustered every ounce of pride she had, and made sure to hold her head up high as she walked out. She turned to glare once more at Narcissa, and her eyes met with an icy stare from the woman. Behind her, Hermione also glimpsed Mimi shaking her head furiously while pulling her ears painfully across her head as if to prevent herself from shouting. But before she could bid goodbye to the elf, the door was slammed in her face, stopping just millimeters away from her nose.

Narcissa smirked at Hermione from behind the closed door. "That should get rid of her," she muttered. She then turned to return to her business in the house when she caught sight of Mimi shaking in the corner. Narcissa sneered at her, "Elf, you are forbidden from speaking a word of this to anyone, _especially_ Draco. If I find that you've disobeyed me, you will regret it most severely I assure you."

Mimi whimpered and nodded her head, "y...y…ye…yes Madam." Mimi bowed but continued standing in the corner shaking long after Narcissa had departed. A large tear fell down her cheek as she looked up at the door, she liked Miss Hermione, and she knew her Master did too. But Madam had given her an order, and she was forbidden from disobeying direct orders such as that no mater how much she disagreed with it.

Once out of Narcissa's sight, Hermione allowed herself to breathe again, but with the breaths came tears. She couldn't stop them from rolling down her cheeks, and as much as she did not want Narcissa's words to affect her, the truth was they had. Hermione was aware that Draco had been suspicious of her for quite some time, it would not be surprising to her if last night had pushed him over the edge. Hermione tried to focus on Mimi's words and behavior more so than Narcissa's but no matter how hard she tried she could not erase the words or the cruel stare from her mind. 'when a Malfoy walks out, the relationship is over' uttered in Narcissa's malicious voice kept repeating itself over and over in her head, blocking out any reasonable and logical thoughts.

Hermione felt like an idiot standing on the front steps of the Malfoy Manor with tears rolling down her face. So she sucked in a deep breath to calm herself, and then let it out again. With a final look at the door, and confusion raging through her brain, she disapparated back to Grimmauld Place. Little did she know that at home awaited a confrontation even worse than the one she had just faced.

- - - - - - - - - -

Around midday, Draco stopped flying in the empty field he was in. He banished his broom all the way back to the Manor making a mental note to check for it when he got back to make sure it arrived. Then, in an effort to avoid Narcissa for as long as possible, he apparated to Diagon Alley. Winter was clearly approaching as indicated by the brisk chill running though the air. Not that Draco minded of course, he rather enjoyed it; the cold weather fit his current mood rather nicely.

Draco walked around for a while, but something wasn't feeling right. He began walking faster through the street, as if attempting to rid himself of the feeling, but it persisted. Finally, he found shelter in the Quality Quidditch Supplies store. He amused himself for a while perusing though all the supplies, but after a few moments, the feeling returned. Draco stopped meandering through the store and pretended to be very interested in the latest model of racing broom. But in reality he wasn't even seeing the broom; his eyes were shifting side to side searching for something suspicious. Finally he found it. There was a man in a hooded robe staring at him from behind a shelf containing various sets of quidditch balls. The man immediately averted his gaze when he realized Draco had caught him. Draco frowned, and in a flash exited the shop.

He strode to the corner of the shop and darted into the small alley beside it. He stood perfectly still, and sure enough moments later, the man in the hooded robe came striding passed, clearly in a rush. Draco spied on the strange man as he made his way down the street. Before he'd gone too far, the man stopped and looked around as if he was lost. Draco pulled back when the man turned around to look behind him. After taking a couple deep breaths, he risked another glance to find the man still standing in the center of the street. Draco smirked when he saw the man disapparated on the spot, 'busted!' he thought to himself with a satisfied laugh as he made his way back into the street in search of something to eat.

But for the rest of the afternoon, Draco's mind was plagued with questions. Why was that man following him? What did he want with Draco? How did he find him?

The questions put Draco on a bit of an edge. The last thing he needed right now was added stress to complicate his life. Draco shook his head and slumped back in his chair. He took a large bite of his sandwich and allowed his eyes to roam around the restaurant. The sight caused a definite pang within his chest. He had been so preoccupied with questions that he hadn't noticed that he was surrounded by couples. All of which looked happy together. Draco frowned, 'that should be me and Hermione!' he thought stubbornly. But no matter what they did, it seemed like their relationship was cursed. 'Haven't we suffered enough!' he thought in a mounting rage, 'what more do we have to go through before we can just be happy!' Ok, so maybe he hadn't come to terms with the problems in their relationship as well as he thought he had…

With a sudden loss of appetite, Draco strode out of the restaurant. He had nowhere else to go, so he apparated straight to his room in the Manor. He sighed and plopped down on his bed. He hated not having anything to do, but more than that he hated not knowing where Hermione was or what she was thinking. It enraged him that he couldn't go find her, it forced him to wait for her to make the first move and come to him. Draco hated waiting almost as much as he hated not being in control, but the worst part was, there was nothing he could do about it until he got the chance to talk with Hermione again.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione apparated with a pop into the entryway of Grimmauld Place. After wiping her cheeks free of any tear trails, she set out for the kitchen. It crossed her mind to look for Harry and Ron, but she was still sore at them from earlier, so she didn't bother. Unfortunately for her, she found herself face to face with both of them when she opened the kitchen door, and to her surprise they were not alone; Dumbledore was seated across from them at the table as well and all three of them were staring at her with fixed expressions as if they had been expecting her.

"I didn't miss another surprise meeting did I?" Though she attempted to sound polite, her voice retained traces of bitterness. She knew there had been no meeting, but that knowledge only added to the boiling stew of rage and frustration brewing deep inside her. She did not want to talk to Dumbledore right now, and if he dared address her about Draco, she knew that she was likely to snap.

"No, you did not miss a meeting," Dumbledore answered. His voice was calm, but his expression was stern. "However Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley did contact me a short while ago with some rather surprising news."

"Oh?" Hermione leaned against the nearest counter and pretended to be as nonchalant as possible, as if she had no idea what this news was. Although, the glare that she sent across the table to Harry and Ron said otherwise.

"Yes Miss Granger," Dumbledore spoke sadly, eyeing Hermione with disappointment. "I was very surprised and extremely disappointed to hear that you chose to break part of the oath of the Order, you are the last person from whom I would expect behavior such as this…"

"Exactly!" Harry interrupted with a shout, "This just proves that Malfoy has a bad influence on her!"

Hermione's eyes flashed, "You are the last person who has any right to accuse anyone of having a bad influence on my rule breaking habits Harry Potter!" This confrontation was tugging on her last nerve, and she could feel her insides tightening under the pressure. Deep down it was as if she wanted to snap, she wanted to release all her tension and anger, the way she had in Auror training when she hexed Michael. The release had felt so good, and it was just the sort of rush she needed right now.

She hardly even remembered what they were arguing about any more. These were supposed to be her friends, the ones she could go to for love understanding and support no matter what happened. But it seemed to her that the minute she did anything they disapproved of, they attacked her for it.

And what say did Dumbledore have in any of this anyway? This was about her personal life with Draco not the Order; he should have nothing to say about it. 'I'm already going through enough drama with Draco,' she thought, 'I don't need all of them on my case too!'

"Miss Granger, this is much more serious than breaking a simple school rule. The safety and lives of the members of the Order and of the general public is at stake! Not to mention the safety of the information each of the Order Members posses! Those are precisely the reasons why the Order must be kept a secret!" Dumbledore reprimanded, his voice steadily rising as he continued.

"I can't believe how selfish you're being Hermione!" Harry added with a disgusted glare towards Hermione. "How can you possibly put Malfoy ahead of the Order? Ahead of us!" Harry gestured to Ron and himself. If he had expected his words to touch Hermione and 'bring her to her senses' he was sorely mistaken.

Harry's words did not just tip Hermione over the edge, oh no, they sent her flying! "How dare you," she growled menacingly. Her fists were balled, her eyes narrowed and shining with rage, and if it had been possible, there would have been smoke rising from beneath her hair due to the inferno burning inside her. "I have _never_ put myself before everyone else! I didn't jump up and volunteer to join the Order you know! I never would have if it had not been for you! I joined to help keep you and the people I love safe because I care about my friends! And you know what, one of the people that I love happens to be Draco, and so far, being in the Order has done nothing but hurt things between the two of us! So yes, I wanted to tell him about it to make things easier, so sue me for wanting to make things a bit easier in my life! I wasn't going to tell him every little detail, just enough so that he wouldn't have to be suspicious about where I was and what I was doing all the time!"

Hermione stopped due to her body's need for oxygen. Harry and Ron were protesting what she said, but she heard none of it, instead she simply yelled over their voices. "Besides, I was allowed to tell my parents about it, so why can't I make an exception for Draco as well?"

"The exception applies _only_ to family members Miss Granger," Dumbledore answered firmly.

"Well Draco might as well be a part of my family!" Hermione fired back before even realizing what she was saying.

But everyone heard what she said loud and clear, and they were all frozen in an immediate stunned silence. Harry and Ron were glaring wide-eyed at Hermione, and even Dumbledore could not hide the shock from his face. Hermione refused to look at any of them, and she refused to show how shocked she herself was by what she had said. In an effort to cover up her own unease, she continues shouting.

"You all can shut up and relax without fear for your precious Order secrets anyway because I didn't even get to talk to Draco! He wasn't home when I did go to tell him and instead I was confronted with his mother! Who spent the whole of our conversation trying to make me believe that Draco broke up with me last night!" Hermione stormed across the kitchen, "Happy now!" She roared before stomping through the house and slamming the front door behind her with such a force that Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore could feel the sound reverberating in their chests. Harry and Ron glanced at each other for a split second before both leaping out of their seats to chase after Hermione.

Hermione was fuming as she charged down the street. She didn't know where she was going, and frankly she didn't care. She just did not understand why everything always had to be so complicated and messed up in her life. The fire inside her was winding down until she heard a door slam behind her and the sound of two pairs of feet running towards her. Her pace sped up, and when they started shouting her name, she broke into a run. She didn't want to talk to them right now, she didn't want to look at them, and all she wanted was for someone to comfort her, someone to understand what she was going through and to support her.

Hermione could head the footsteps and shouts behind her growing louder; there was no way she could out run them, so she opted for a quicker way to escape. She concentrated very hard on her destination, and with a pop and a blink of the eye, she was gone.

Harry and Ron slowed to a halt and looked around as if Hermione would reappear somewhere beside them. "We really blew it this time didn't we?" Harry asked with a guilty, yet stubborn look on his face.

"Yeah, I think we did," Ron nodded, "where do you think she went?"

Harry shook his head, "I have no idea." The two boys stood in silence for a long moment before Ron spoke up again. "Do you think she meant what she said? About Malfoy being like a part of her family?"

Harry shook his head with a tired look on his face, "God I hope not," he answered. "I don't think I could deal with that, ever."

"Me neither. She probably just said it cause she was mad right?"

"Let's hope so," muttered Harry as the two of them then returned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place to inform Dumbledore that Hermione had disapparated.

Dumbledore sighed, "I see. Please inform me when she returns, I would like to have a talk with her."

"Yes sir," Harry said.

Dumbledore sat for another moment deep in thought, though there was a definite weariness in his eyes. "I must be going now, good day to you both, and let me know what happens with Miss Granger when she returns."

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione apparated to Hogsmeade. She would have liked to go to Hogwarts to see Ginny, but as she had informed Harry and Ron on countless occasions, you cannot apparate into the Hogwarts grounds. Plus, she knew that Dumbledore would be likely to return to Hogwarts, and she was not at all eager to encounter him any more than she wanted to deal with Harry and Ron.

Hermione sighed as she trudged through the quaint little street, what she really needed right now was to see Draco and hear from his lips that he still loved her as much as she loved him. Deep down she did not believe what Narcissa had said one bit, but she still would have liked to hear Draco refute it. Having him hold her tight and ease away all her stress wouldn't hurt either, she confessed to herself.

Those thoughts gave way to deeper thoughts about what she had said to Harry Ron and Dumbledore. 'Did I really mean that?' she asked herself. 'Draco being a part of my family would mean… marriage.' Hermione stopped in her tracks when she thought _that_ word. She hadn't even been aware she was even remotely thinking of something like that. She was too young to think of that right? How long had the idea been in her subconscious?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it had probably been in the back of her mind for a while. After all they'd been through together and all they'd done for each other, it seemed only natural to Hermione that they would remain together. But then…the rest of her life was a long time, and there was no possible way Draco was thinking of marriage yet, right?

'No, he's not,' she answered her own question. 'He's more likely to be considering breaking up with you than marrying you!'

Hermione groaned. She did not enjoy the thoughts which were taking over her mind, she would much rather just continue being angry at Narcissa, Harry, Ron and Dumbledore than think about what Draco might be thinking. She looked up, and in her eyes there was the clear image of a lost soul. She felt as if she had nowhere to go, no one to confide in anymore. The world was completely backwards and it was terrifying her. Where was she supposed to go? Who could she turn to now that Draco's mother was standing guard at the Manor, preventing Hermione from reaching her son, Harry and Ron had turned on her, and Ginny was at school, which.

After a brief moment of panic, the answer came to her. It was so simple and obvious that she couldn't believe she didn't think of it sooner, _home_. She would go home. No matter what, her parents were there for her, and they would certainly comfort her and make her feel better, it was one of the top items in their job description. Once again, Hermione vanished with a pop, this time reappearing in the entryway of her own home. Immediately she felt better, the sight, sound, and smell of her childhood home were like a cure in itself. "Hello? Is anyone home?" she called to announce her arrival.

"Hermione? Is that you?" came the voice of Mrs. Granger from somewhere within the house. "To what do I owe this wonderful surprise?" she asked as she appeared in the hallway with a dust rag in her hand and an inquisitive smile on her face.

Hermione charged forward and enveloped her mother in a tight hug. Knowing based on the look of her, and by her sudden appearance that something must be wrong; Mrs. Granger returned the hug and gave her daughter a loving kiss on the head.

Hermione finally released her mother, feeling her emotions rising to the surface again. "Oh Mum, everything's so messed up. I'm sorry for just coming over out of the blue, but I really need someone to talk to."

"Honey, you know that's what I'm here for," Mrs. Granger smiled sympathetically at Hermione. "Tell you what, why don't you go upstairs, take a shower and get cleaned up. I'll finish cleaning the living room, then we'll put on a pot of tea and you can do all the talking you need."

Hermione smiled with relief and nodded, "thanks Mum."

* * *

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm alreadfy hard at work on the next chapter, so hopefully that will be a quick update too. Of course, I would love to hear your thoughts in a review! Thanks :o) 


	9. Can't Take it Anymore

**Disclaimer:** I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore, I do not own the fabulous world of Harry Potter.

**A/N:** No, you are not halucinating, I have finally updated this fic. I would like to apologize to all my readers for taking so long, I really do feel horrible about making you wait so long. There are tons of reasons why (graduating, moving, and a new job to name a few.) Not to mention the deadly writer's block. I really hope that this chapter is up to par, and I apologize if it seems choppy or hard to follow. I don't know why it was so difficult to write this one, but I'm sincerely hoping that future chapters come to me easier so that I can update faster.

One last note, I've been told that does not aprove of writing individual notes to reviewers as I have been doing. Since I don't want to lose my account I will instead reply to reviews via PMs. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, reading you reviews helped me to keep working at this chapter when I felt it was hopeless. I really do appreciate it.

And now, after much too long of a wait, let's continue with the story!

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**Chapter 9: Can't Take it Anymore**

Once Hermione and her mother sat down to talk, Hermione could not stop the rush of words and emotions which came pouring from her mouth. She began from the beginning, her mom offered support where she felt it was needed, but for the most part she kept silent and just let her daughter vent.

"…well that didn't go over too well with Harry or Ron, but I went anyway."

"How did Draco take it?"

Hermione's emotions were finally catching up to her and she began to get a bit teary eyed as she spoke. "I don't know! He wasn't home, so instead of talking with him, I got yelled at by his mother. She hates me Mum! She thinks I'm filthy and that I don't deserve Draco. That I'm worthless."

"Hermione Granger you listen to me," Mrs. Granger's voice was firm and demanding. She was infuriated at the thought of someone talking down to her precious daughter in such a horrid manner. "You are an intelligent, beautiful, caring, and amazing young lady. That woman is lucky that her son is dating someone as special and perfect as you!"

Hermione nodded through her tears, she had been expecting that sort of reaction from her Mum, but doubts still lingered within her. "But Mum," she argued "Draco loves his mother very much, and I'm sure she probably spent the whole night convincing him to break up with me. What if he listens to her!"

"If he loves you, and has any idea of how special you are, and how much you care for him he won't." Mrs. Granger cajoled her daughter.

"But what if he does!" cried Hermione.

"Why don't you wait to deal with that particular issue until after you've spoken to Draco? Otherwise you might end up worrying yourself to tears over nothing," soothed Mrs. Granger.

Hermione nodded, that was certainly the most logical thing to do, and she didn't like thinking about Draco possibly breaking up with her anyway. To help put that particular unwelcome thought out of her mind, she took a deep breath and continued with her story. "So then I went back home, but Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore were there, and they all yelled at me for wanting to tell Draco about the Order. I couldn't take being yelled at anymore so I came here."

"Oh Hermione," Mrs. Granger pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I am so sorry that you have had to deal with all of that, it's not fair."

The two Granger women sat in a silent, yet comfortable embrace while Hermione's breathing calmed. It was such a relief to get everything out in the open without being reprimanded for it. She neglected to tell her Mum about her little verbal slip up with Harry, Ron and Dumbledore about feeling as though Draco was a part of her family. 'It's really not important,' she told herself, although thinking about it did distract her quite a bit.

Mrs. Granger viewed her daughter with a kind expression. She could tell that Hermione was deep in thought, though about what she did not know exactly. It seemed to Mrs. Granger that Hermione needed to do something that would help get her mind off her troubles, and she knew just the thing. "Hermione, what do you say the two of us go to a movie tonight? I heard there are a few good ones out now."

Hermione's face brightened, "Mum that's a wonderful idea! I can't even remember the last time I went to the cinema…or even watched a movie for that matter," she added as an afterthought.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco refused to think about the fight with Hermione or his fight with his mother for the rest of the day while he was flying. However, when he returned to his room, it was a short while before he realized that he had been half-expecting Aries or some other owl to be waiting for him with a letter from Hermione. But there was no owl, and a quick scan of his tidy room told him that none had come in his absence.

As he was looking for a letter, he saw Hermione's bag still sitting on the floor against the wall where Mimi left it. 'Maybe she came by to pick it up,' he thought. Mimi would have known better than to give it to her while he was gone. He'd have to ask, "Mimi!" he bellowed through his open door.

Draco slowly began to count to ten in his head while he waited. Sure enough, by the time he reached nine, she could hear the scurrying footsteps and speedy shallow breaths of the elf. "Yes Master Draco?" Mimi panted as she bowed.

"Did Hermione happen to drop by while I was gone?"

Mimi squeaked and jumped back as if she'd just received a painful stinging hex. The poor elf faced a major dilemma. On the one hand, Draco had asked her a direct question; Draco was her master, she had cared for him his entire life and she loved him. But on the other hand, Narcissa had given her an order, and since she was a Malfoy, Mimi was required to obey her as well. Mimi just did not know what to do.

She was spared the trauma of making a decision when her Master spoke again. Mimi's hesitation and her frightened behavior had set off alarm bells in his head. Clearly something had happened involving Hermione while he had been away and he was not going anywhere until he'd heard everything. For the first time in his life, Draco knelt down on the ground, lowering himself to Mimi's level. His intense gaze demanded that she look at him, and being the dedicated house-elf that she was, she obeyed.

"Mimi," Draco spoke in a voice which somehow managed to be both gentle and forceful all at once. "I _demand_ that you tell me what happened with Hermione."

To Draco's surprise, Mimi burst into tears and fell to the ground. "I is sorry Master Draco! Madam made Mimi promise not to tell Master!" Mimi began hitting her head with her small boney fists.

Draco was at first too taken aback by Mimi's sudden outburst to stop her. He had never seen Mimi cry, nor had he even seen her go so hysterically berserk like she was right now. It reminded him of his father's old house-elf, Doddy, Dooby, Dobby, or something like that.

Mimi was about to start bashing her head against the floor when Draco yanked her up by her pillowcase toga. "Stop that this instant!" Draco sounded as if he was reprimanding a two-year-old.

"Yes Sir," Mimi muttered with her head down.

"Now Mimi, I need you to tell me everything that happened with Hermione," he spoke in a gentle voice so as to gain Mimi's cooperation. "I promise, no matter what my mother said, you will not be punished for telling me the truth."

Mimi's head shot up immediately, she was beaming at Draco with a mixture of relief and adoration. "Oh thank you Master Draco!" Mimi threw her arms around Draco's legs in a tight hug. Again, Draco was stunned by the elf's behavior, but just as quickly as it started, it stopped. Draco looked down to see Mimi backing away with her head down and a crimson blush on her cheeks, which rather gave her the appearance of a tomato. She seemed to understand that she had probably overstepped her boundaries with her impulsive hug.

After a brief silence, Draco cleared his throat, and Mimi managed to overcome her embarrassment. She proceeded to tell Draco what happened, though she refused to look him in the eye. "Miss Herminey _is_ coming while Master is out, and she is wanting to speak to Master. Mimi is trying to tell Miss to come back later, but Madam is coming before Miss Herminey leaves. Madam tells Miss that Master is not caring for Miss anymore and that Master is out with someone else!" By now Mimi was becoming hysterical again, she was gazing up at Draco with large tear-filled eyes and her voice was a higher pitch than usual. "I is sorry Sir! Mimi is wanting to tell Miss the truth, but Madam would have punished Mimi. I is a bad house-elf!" Mimi wailed and threw her head against the floor too quickly for Draco to stop her.

Again, Draco yanked Mimi up by her pillowcase toga, and this time he held her so that she was forced to look at him. "Mimi, you stop this right now! You are a good house-elf for telling me what happened. Now I want you to go down to the house-elf quarters and stay there for the day. If Narcissa calls for you, I forbid you to answer. Understand?"

"Yes Master," Mimi whimpered, though there was a slight grin on her lips. She snapped her fingers and with a crack like a whip and a small puff of smoke, she was gone.

Draco didn't waste a moment, looking much like an angry beast on the prowl he stomped through the Manor in search of Narcissa. In he had been in less of a temper, he might have used this time to calm himself and decide how best to confront her. However, he was not in a good mood, and he wanted to yell and rage at his mother for what she had done and the mess she had caused.

"Mother!" he roared as he strode through one of the large hallways on the second floor. But his calls received no answer. She was either ignoring him, or was not in one of her usual haunts. Whichever was the case, his inability to find her was making him even more furious than he already was.

Having searched through his mother's favorite spots in the upper floors of the Manor with no success, Draco relocated his search to the first floor. He checked the conservatory and the study. Draco was on his way to the living room when to his surprise, his 'quarry' stepped out into the hall from the library ahead of him.

'What the hell was she doing in there?' Draco wondered with a sneer on his face. "Mother!" he shouted as he lengthened his strides to catch up with her.

"Draco," Narcissa acknowledged icily as she stopped and turned to face her son. It was obvious that neither Malfoy had gotten over their argument from the day before. "I was just on my way to owl this letter to Adrienne," Narcissa broke the heated silence, "to tell her how eager we are of her arrival."

Draco's eyes flashed and he tore the letter from Narcissa's grasp. He ripped the parchment to shreds and threw it to the ground. "Why the hell are you so determined to ruin the _one_ thing that's good in my life!"

Narcissa didn't respond, she didn't even look surprised at Draco's behavior. Instead she just glared at her son with her piercing blue eyes.

Draco glared back at his mother just as icily. His expression was filled with defiance and anger that bordered on hate. Though it did hurt a part of him deep down to see his Mother glaring so coldly at him, he did not allow her to break his resolve. He was his own man and he was going to make his own decisions.

"You have been blinded by this sick infatuation of yours Draco," Narcissa finally spoke in a clipped tone. "One day you will see the truth. You will see that your little muggle-born never loved you…"

Draco made a noise to interrupt, but Narcissa silenced him with a sharp smack across the face. He stopped talking more out of surprise than of pain, which allowed Narcissa to continue uninterrupted.

"You were taught better than to talk back to your mother Draco Malfoy! You are my son, and I am doing what is best for you, even if you can't see it for yourself!" With that, Narcissa turned and strode down the hall and out of sight. In the distance Draco could hear her fading footsteps followed by a heavy door closing.

After she was gone, Draco finally snapped out of his surprised trance. It was only then that he spoke, in a voice so low that not even the walls around him could hear. "No Mother, if you truly wanted what is best for me, you'd let me live my own life. You'd release me from your prison."

Draco then returned to his room, but he could not sit still. He felt as if he was being crushed by in the expansive confines of the Manor. The space was somehow suffocating. He paced his room like a caged animal, but the more he paced, the more claustrophobic he felt. The pressure was overwhelming, he had to get out. Just looking around at his room, the place which had been a haven for him his entire life was suddenly making him sick.

With a fierce determination, Draco kicked open his old Hogwarts trunk and began throwing robes and other various items inside. "Mimi!" he called as he packed his things. Mimi appeared with a crack and a puff of smoke.

"Yes Master?" Mimi asked in an alarmed tone. She was disturbed to see her master in such a frenzied state.

Draco grabbed Hermione's bag and threw that in the trunk on top of all his stuff. "I want you to take this to the Phoenix Grande outside of Diagon Alley, tell them that I would like a room. I will meet you there in a couple minutes."

Mimi gasped, she wanted to know why they were leaving, but she knew better than to ask. "How long is you wanting to stay there Master Draco?"

"Just tell them I don't know how long I'll be staying." Draco continued to double check his room, occasionally throwing another item into the trunk.

"Yes Master," Mimi bowed. Once Draco closed the trunk and locked it shut, Mimi grabbed it and with a snap of her fingers, disappeared along with it.

Draco meanwhile, left his room, slamming the door behind him. His long strides took him through the house and out to the owlry. "Aries!" he barked, startling the owls awake; much to their annoyance.

Aries normally would have reprimanded Draco for shouting with a harsh bite; however he could sense intense anger from his owner, so instead he just flew down to Draco's arm. "We're leaving. Fly to the Phoenix Grande and you can sleep there."

Aries clicked his beak to show he understood, and then he took off into the afternoon sky.

Draco watched his owl fly away, and then turned his gaze to the imposing Manor. He scowled with disgust at the home he had once been so proud of. He determined that as long as his mother was in that house, he could not see it as a place of pride, now it seemed to be nothing more than a prison. It was a fortress that his parents had locked him in his entire life, and now he was escaping for good. For as long as Narcissa was there trying to control his life, he would not stay there. As far as he was concerned, the Manor was no longer his home.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione had a wonderful time at the cinema with her mum, so wonderful in fact that she decided to skip Auror training the following day. She no longer cared about her attendance record; which of course had been perfect up until that point. She hardly gave a thought for what Kingsley would think or say. She knew her mentor already disliked Draco, so surely this would only increase Kingsley's distrust.

She even gave a vindictive chuckle at the thought of how Harry and Ron would react. No doubt they would probably find some way to blame her behavior on Draco. It would figure because it really was their fault, they were the ones she was avoiding after all. Them, their rash accusations, stupid lectures, and accusatory glares they would surely be sending her if she was present at auror training. But she wasn't, and on her self-declared day off she was prepared to immerse herself in things which were purely muggle. Her main goal for the day was to forget that the wizarding world even existed; she felt it would help her relax, unwind and think clearly.

Surprisingly, she was very successful at achieving her goal. Of course she could never actually forget the wizarding world completely; it was too much a part of her now. But she did manage to put it out of her mind temporarily, which for her purposes was just as good.

She began her delightful day off by sleeping in very late. When she did finally wake up, her initial thought was to write to Draco because she knew she would definitely have to make the first move this time. However, since writing to Draco came in direct conflict with her goal for the day, the felt it was best to save that duty for the next day. It wasn't that she didn't want to write to him, she did very much. It was just that if she wrote to him, she knew that she wouldn't be able to relax or think about anything else until she had received his response. Since she wasn't even entirely sure whether or not she would like the response, she forced herself to leave the task for later on.

So, after a refreshing shower, Hermione set out to enjoy a full day of muggle fun. She rode the Underground to Piccadilly Circus where Hermione's first order of business was to purchase tickets to a comedy show she and her parents planned on seeing that evening. After that, she had a great time watching the street performers, walking through the mall, and otherwise just people watching. Several times throughout the day, thoughts of the wizarding world threatened to take over her thoughts; however Hermione refused to give in. She blocked the thoughts from her mind and instead focused entirely on her surroundings. As a way to distract herself, she even went into a few tourist oriented stores. She was rather surprised at how much she felt like a tourist herself as she browsed through the selection of goods. The feeling hit Hermione in a way it never had before. For even though she was a muggle-born, the whole muggle world was no longer her home. Now it was just a place to visit occasionally, and escape from her real home in the wizarding world. And just like any vacation spot, it's fun for a while but eventually you always have to go back home.

- - - - - - - - - -

After arriving that the hotel, Draco locked himself inside the room for the remainder of the night. He slept a lot, but in the morning he felt completely exhausted, as if he hadn't slept a wink. It took all of his effort, as well as intense encouragement from Mimi to convince him to spend the day outside of the hotel room. All he was in the mood to do was to lay in the darkness and allow his anger to consume him.

"No Master Draco!" Mimi daringly argued. "Master should not stay here all day; it is not good for Master."

Draco glared at Mimi, causing the elf to shrink into herself a bit. "I left the Manor because I am sick and tired of Narcissa trying to control my life, if you are going to try to tell me what's best for me, then you can go right back there with her!"

Mimi shuddered and her eyes went wide with terror, "No Master Draco! Mimi is sorry Sir! Mimi does not want to serve Madam, Mimi wants to stay here and serve Master."

"Then be quiet and remember your place!" roared Draco.

"Yes Master," Mimi whimpered. Mimi could not stop the tears that came to her eyes upon hearing her beloved Master speaking to her in such a tone. It reminded her of the way Lucius used to speak to her and the other house elves, and she did not like it one bit. Mimi retreated to the kitchen, leaving her Master alone as he wished. She heard him moving, and flinched when she heard the door slam. She had to do something, her Master was not himself and she was worried for him.

Mimi waited in the room for hours, well into the evening. But her instincts told her that Draco would not return until late at night. Just in case, she prepared a dinner for him, and left it on the table. She placed a heating charm around it to keep it warm, and then she decided it was time she did something to help him. With a snap of her fingers Mimi vanished in a puff of smoke.

- - - - - - - - - -

Having not seen Hermione at all since their argument, Harry and Ron arrived at auror training an astounding 20 minutes early, definitely a first for them. They came early based on the hope that they would get a chance to patch things up with Hermione before the day began. Both of them were exhausted. They had dark circles under their bloodshot eyes from too little sleep, their heads were pounding like mad, and they could not stop yawning.

The boys had stayed up all night waiting for Hermione to return. The only sleep they had gotten was a couple hours each on the couches in the living room by the entryway; where they had hoped to hear Hermione come home. As soon as they woke up, they had checked her room, but were distressed to find it empty looking as if it hadn't been slept in all night. The concerns which arose in their minds were only eased by the certainty that they would find her safely at auror training.

But no such relief was to be found as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Hermione. Each time the door opened, Harry and Ron leapt, only to have their hopes sent crashing back down when they saw that Hermione was still nowhere to be found. They kept holding on to the hope that she would arrive until Kingsley walked in, just as the clock chimed in the new hour.

"Good morning everyone," Kingsley began sternly. He opened his mouth to give the instructions for the day, however a quick scan of the room alerted him to the fact that his prized protégé was conspicuously absent. "And where is Hermione?"

"We don't know Sir," answered Harry.

"Yeah, we haven't seen her since yesterday," added Ron.

Kingsley thought for a moment staring at Harry and Ron with a hardened expression and making them feel rather uneasy. "Very well," he finally said, "I will speak to her separately about this, in the meantime you will all meet with your mentors until lunch. After that, we shall continue out practical lessons."

When the trainees met with Kingsley that afternoon, Kinsley did not bring up the subject again. Instead, he instructed the group in their first practical exercise in stealth. The training room was set up with an obstacle course of sorts. The goal for the trainees was to wend their way through the course without setting off any of the magical sensors which were meant to indicate that they had been seen or heard.

Each of the trainees tackled the course three times. Harry performed decently, although he would have probably made it through nearly perfectly had he been fully awake. Ron on the other hand performed absolutely dismally. He tended to be loud and clumsy enough when fully awake and alert, but in his exhausted state, he could hardly walk a straight line let alone perform well in an obstacle course. By his third and worst attempt, both he and Kingsley were in extremely foul tempers.

"Enough!" Kingsley roared. "Michael, Toby, you two are free to go. Harry and Ron, I would like a word with the two of you in my office _now_.

Harry and Ron traipsed wordlessly behind Kingsley all the way to his office. Not a sound was uttered by any of the men until the door closed, at which point Ron burst into an explanation, "I'm sorry Kingsley, I was just so exhausted I couldn't concentrate!"

"Then perhaps you should have been more responsible about getting an appropriate amount of rest last night," countered Kingsley.

"We couldn't!" interrupted Harry, "we were up all night waiting for Hermione to come back and she never did."

"I see," Kingsley's anger began to cool "and neither of you have any idea where she went?"

"No, she's been gone since yesterday afternoon," answered Harry.

"Very well, do you at least know why she left?"

"She's mad at us and Dumbledore…"

"Didn't think she was this mad," interrupted Ron under his breath.

"We were all yelling at her because we thought she told Malfoy about the Order," finished Harry.

"That is serious," Kingsley pondered. "Did either of you consider the thought that she might be at the Manor?"

"Normally we would have," insisted Harry, "but Malfoy's mother is there and she was yelling at Hermione yesterday too. I don't know where else she would go," shrugged Harry.

"Well, I'm sure wherever she is, she's fine. She knows how to take care of herself. However, just to be sure, why don't you send her an owl when you get home, insist that she reply if only to confirm that she's safe."

"Alright," chorused Harry and Ron.

"And remind her that I expect her to be on time for training tomorrow."

Harry and Ron nodded as they made their way out of Kingsley's office.

"And one more thing!" Kingsley called. "I suggest you use the floo network to return home today, you wouldn't want to go splinching yourselves just because you're tired."

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione and her parents returned home after a very enjoyable and relaxing day spent in muggle London. However as soon as she entered her house, the realities of her life in the wizarding world came crashing back into her conscience full force. Hedwig was perched on the flowerbox outside one of the windows in the living room.

Hermione groaned, but opened the window for the owl anyway, "Hi Hedwig," Hermione said with a sad smile.

"Is that a letter from Harry and Ron?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Probably," Hermione muttered, though she made no move to open it.

"Honey, you can't ignore them forever, they're your best friends."

"I know," acquiesced Hermione, "but that doesn't mean I'm eager to get yelled at again."

"Hermione, they're probably just writing to apologize and make sure you're alright."

Hermione was silent for a moment, "You're right." With a heavy sigh, Hermione unfolded the note and prepared herself for the worst. But when she actually read the contents, she was pleasantly surprised.

"They just wanted to make sure I was alright," Hermione confirmed after she had finished reading. "They apologized for getting on my case yesterday too," she added with a smile.

"See, they really do care for you Hermione."

"I know, sometimes they can just be too much though. Every now and then I just need a break from them."

"That's the way relationships are dear. Everyone needs some space to themselves sometime."

"True. I'm going to go write a reply and get ready for bed." Hermione walked over and hugged both of her parents.

"Goodnight sweetheart," Mrs. Granger smiled.

"Night Hermione," said Mr. Granger.

"I probably won't see you tomorrow, so thanks for everything."

"We're always here for you dear, that's our job."

Hermione smiled before jogging up the stairs to her room where she penned a quick response to Harry's letter.

_Harry and Ron,  
__Thank you for being so worried about me, but I'm fine of course. I spent the night at my parents and today I really just needed a break from everything. I'll see you both tomorrow at training.  
__Hermione_

Hermione folded the letter and gave it to Hedwig. "Deliver that to the boys for me alright?"

Hedwig clicked her beak in response, and then Hermione sent the owl flying out the window. Hermione then put on her pajamas and was about to go brush her teeth when a crack, like a whip, startled her half to death. Hermione turned toward the noise instinctively reaching to her side for her wand. She cursed herself for not having her wand on hand before she processed what, or rather who, had caused the disturbance. "Mimi?" Hermione gasped with disbelief.

"Miss Herminey, Mimi is very sorry for disturbing Miss," Mimi bowed as she spoke.

"No, no don't worry about it," Hermione insisted. But now Her heart was racing not from being startled, but from concern. "Mimi, why are you here? Did Draco send you?"

Mimi cringed and lowered her eyes, "Oh, no Miss, Master would be furious if he knew Mimi left." Tears began streaking down Mimi's face and she was shaking as if she was restraining herself from punishing herself.

Hermione's heart began pounding even faster. She knelt down and tried to comfort Mimi. "Mimi, please just tell me what's wrong. Has something happened to Draco?"

"No, not really Miss. But Master Draco is very upset, Mimi has to do something!"

Hermione immediately felt guilty for not writing to Draco sooner and telling him how she felt. "He's upset with me," she assumed.

Mimi's eyes went wide, "Oh no Miss Herminey, Master Draco is never upset with you! Master Draco is furious with Madam Narcissa. Master and Madam had a big fight and Master left the Manor!"

Hermione frowned, "what do you mean he left?"

"Master is packing his trunk and leaving! He is sending Mimi the hotel where he is staying. Then Mimi is trying to help Master feel better, but Master yelled at Mimi." Mimi began to break down into tears, "Master is yelling at Mimi like Master Lucius used to do."

Hermione gasped. Whatever had happened between Draco and his mother must have been some blowout for it to affect him so strongly. "Where is Draco now?"

"Mimi does not know Miss. Master Draco left hours ago and is not saying when he is returning."

"Ok," Hermione's mind began racing. "Mimi, did Draco bring Aries with him?"

"Yes Miss," sobbed Mimi.

"Alright, I want you to go back to the hotel and send Aries here. I was planning on writing to Draco tonight anyway."

"Miss, Mimi knows Master Draco is wanting to hear from you. Master Draco is not liking not knowing where his Herminey is." Mimi paused. "But Miss, please don't tell Master Mimi is here, Master isn't knowing that Mimi is gone."

"Don't worry Mimi, I won't say a word to Draco about you coming here. Now just go back there and send Aries to me. And thank you for telling me what's going on."

"Yes Miss, thank you Miss," Mimi bowed and with another snap she disappeared.

As soon as the elf was gone, Hermione sat down to write a note to Draco. She found it a bit difficult not to mention what Mimi told her, and it was even more difficult for her not to ask questions about it. But by the time Aries arrived, tapping his beak against the glass of the window. Hermione had finished her letter and reread it just to be sure it sounded good. Her main goal was to ease Draco's temper, and she felt confident that her note would succeed somewhat. Hermione then opened the window to let Aries in, and then reread her letter one more time, just to be safe.

"Hey Aries," Hermione cooed as she attached the letter. "Bring this to Draco for me alright?"

Aries gave her hand an assuring nip.

"And help Mimi take care of him, I worry about him sometimes."

Aries hooted and sent a meaningful gaze to Hermione with his large eyes as if to say that he worried for Draco as well, and then he took off gracefully into the night.

Hermione sighed as she watched the owl fly away. Now her heart was thumping against her chest from anxiety for Draco. She had poured her entire soul out in her letter and now all she wanted was to see him again, and hear him tell her he still loved her. She finished getting ready for bed feeling as if she had a huge weight on her shoulders. She found it difficult to sleep as she lay on her bed in the darkness of her room. She stared up at her ceiling thinking only of Draco, the ache in her heart pined for him. "I love you Draco," she whispered into the night before turning over and forcing herself to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco returned to the hotel only moments after Mimi, and the poor house-elf nearly had a heart attack thinking about how close she had come to getting caught. Draco didn't speak to her when he returned, instead he grabbed the dinner she had prepared, took it into his room and slammed the door behind him. Mimi flinched, she had been hoping he would not be so angry when he got back, but it seemed that she was wrong.

Quite some time later, Mimi was alerted to a sharp tapping on the window. Aries had returned with a letter attached to his leg. "Master Draco!" called Mimi, "Master Draco you is getting a letter sir!"

Draco was silent as he opened the door, and he viewed Aries warily, as if he did not trust whoever the letter-writer was. Slowly, he untied the letter from Aries' leg. He became more suspicious when he saw it was not addressed. He narrowed his eyes at Aries, wondering how the owl knew someone had been writing to him.

Mimi, meanwhile, watched and waited on pins and needles from behind the counter in the kitchen. She was silently praying that the letter from Miss Herminey would make her Master happy again.

Draco opened the letter, and his suspicious expression vanished the moment he recognized the handwriting and saw the signature at the bottom. "Hermione," he breathed.

He moved to the couch as he read the letter, Mimi was unable to read his expression, but at least the anger had faded from his eyes.

_Draco,  
__Hi. How are you? I really miss you. I've wanted to talk to you so badly ever since… well, ever since the other night. I don't know if your mother told you or not, but I came over to talk to you yesterday. But instead I saw her and she said some things, they really hurt me. I hope they're not true, please tell me they're not true. I don't know what I would do without you, and I can't stand another broken heart. Ever since then, all I've wanted to do is to talk to you and tell you how much I really do love you, but every time I sit down to write, I just can't find the right words. There are no words strong enough to describe what I feel for you, I just hope you still love me and trust me too. I need to see you again, I miss you so much, and I have to know if things are alright between us. I'm free all day tomorrow after training; just say the time and place and I will be there. I promise.  
__I love you, and I miss you,  
__Hermione_

Draco stared at the note long after he had finished reading. In a way he was overwhelmed. He had been feeling and experiencing so much hate and anger over the past two days that reading Hermione's heartfelt words was a bit of a shock to his system. Her words tore through the wall surrounding his heart as only Hermione could. He thought for a long time before he began to write a response, he wanted to make sure he worded it just right.

He dropped the note next to Aries' cage, "Aries, deliver this to Hermione in the morning post, understand?"

Aries hooted and ruffled his feathers in response before folding his head over his wing and going to sleep.

Draco meanwhile, did not want to sleep. Instead, he walked out to the balcony and just stood there looking into the night sky. He didn't know how long he stood there for, but there seemed to be not enough time in the world to organize the various thoughts and feelings clustered in his mind. So after a while, when he was beginning to feel a sense of hopeless frustration overwhelming him, he retired to bed.

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**A/N: **Well, there you have it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter because it turned out very differently than I had planned originally. As always reviews are greatly appreciated, I love knowing what you all think. And finally, I will reiterate the promise I've made before, I will never leave a story without finishing it, so no matter how long it takes to update, the update will come (although I will do my absolute best to update faster from now on.)


	10. Reunion

**Disclaimer: **I'm still not J.K. Rowling, so I still do not own Harry Potter. However that doesn't mean I can't pretend by writing fanfics!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Reunion**

A loud and incessant tapping woke Hermione up just as the sun inched its way completely over the horizon. Even though she should have been exhausted from tossing and turning all night, she felt wide awake as she sprung from her bed to receive Draco's response. Her heart was thumping adrenaline through her veins; filling her with both nervousness and excitement, she hoped that his reply would be positive, but she couldn't be sure until she read it. Hermione barely said 'good morning' to Aries as she fumbled to untie the letter.

Aries viewed Hermione as she struggled with the knot with his head cocked to one side. One would almost think that if he could have, he would have been laughing at her.

Finally, Hermione managed to get the letter undone and as soon as she had it free, she tore it open and began to read;

_Hermione,  
I was beginning to think I was never going to hear from you. _

That wasn't exactly the way she had hoped his reply would begin. But perhaps it would get better;

_Mimi told me what my mother said to you and you have my word that none of it was true. I was frustrated and angry that night yes, but not enough to break up with you. I think I was just as mad at her as I was with you anyway. When Mimi told me what Narcissa said, I lost it. I'm sorry for what she said; she had no right to speak to you like that. But shit Hermione, I can't take this anymore. Even when I'm mad at you, I still want to be with you. And whenever I'm not with you I feel this pain; like I've been I've just been hit in the chest by a bludger. I hate it! I hate having those feelings; I hate feeling like I need you just to get through the day._

By this point tears had begun to sting at the corners of Hermione's eyes, though whether the tears were because she was touched or because she was worried, she couldn't decide. His letter was sending her such mixed messages; she was flattered that he felt so strongly for her, but it worried her too. He said he hated the feeling, what if that meant he wished he didn't feel it?

_But even with all that, I love you. I don't think I can ever stop loving you, and even though I'm angry I don't want to try. I just hate these secrets Hermione. Please no more secrets. I can't handle them anymore, not from you. You mean so much to me, but I need to know that you trust me. I can't go on like this unless I know you trust me. Anyway, meet me in the lobby of the Phoenix Grange outside of Diagon Alley; I'm staying there for a while. Just please promise me, no more secrets.  
Draco_

Draco's letter left Hermione's heart pounding in her throat, all she wanted to do was hold him, kiss him and make all their problems disappear. He just seemed so sad, and even a bit vulnerable. She did not like the idea of him in that state, and it pained her that she was a large part of the reason why he was feeling that way. Still, she was glad that the letter had come so early because it gave her time to think before she really had to begin her day. She would definitely meet Draco as she had promised, but now she had to decide whether or not to tell him about the Order.

She had been so sure about telling him after their fight, but her day off had brought doubts back to her mind. Would telling him about the Order really solve her problems? Or would it just create new ones? She would still have to keep the Order's secrets from him, which he wouldn't appreciate at all. Plus he would probably be angry with her for putting herself in danger. There was just no easy answer, and while Hermione usually loved a challenge, she wished she didn't have to tackle this one.

She thought about it as she showered, and was so distracted that she nearly shampooed with shaving gel. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that telling Draco about the Order might not be the best solution. She felt that it would probably create more problems and even more distrust between them that they already had to deal with, not to mention the fact that it would infuriate the entire Order, and she really didn't need to deal with all of them right now.

- - - - - - - - - -

A sudden and intense searing on Draco's left forearm jolted him from a deep sleep into startled wakefulness. His heart was pounding and his entire body shook from the sudden start. He grimaced in pain and clutched his arm until the pain subsided. His entire body was damp with sweat, and he glared at the Mark as it faded from black to blood red.

In a rage of frustration, he grabbed the closest thing to him, which happened to be his pillow, and hurled it across the room. The pillow hit a vase on a dresser and sent the delicate object crashing to the floor. Broken shards of glass, water and beautiful flowers lay on the ground, but Draco did nothing about it. Instead he stormed out of bed and out to the balcony where the sun was rising and showering the world in it's golden glow.

Draco roared a cry filled with hate and anger just to relieve his stress, but it did little to help anything other than startle a nearby group of owls who had just started snoozing for the day. As he watched the owls fly away, he caught a glimpse of something down below. It appeared as if something had just disappeared behind the building across the street. Was it the swish of a cloak of just a trick of his eye? Draco continued to watch the spot where he had seen something, but nothing happened, "I'm becoming fucking paranoid," he muttered to himself.

But just before he turned away, he saw it. A figure poked their head out from behind the building and looked directly up at him. Draco glared back with a scowl, but in the blink-of-an-eye, the figure vanished.

Draco whipped around and retreated back into the hotel room, making sure to lock the balcony door behind him. 'Quit being a baby Draco,' he chastised himself. 'Narcissa probably just sent someone to follow me,'

But Draco knew he was wrong, even if he didn't realize that he was absentmindedly rubbing the Dark Mark tattooed on his arm, he knew the two incidents were related. This wasn't the first time he'd caught someone following him, nor was it the first time he'd felt someone watching him. He knew somehow this linked back to the Dark Lord, but he didn't want to think of the significance that held for him right now.

Surely the Dark Lord was powerful enough to kill him without a second thought. So, if the Dark Lord had any plans involving Draco, surely he would have been killed already, right? Draco didn't actually believe these thoughts for a second, but he allowed them to delude his conscience for the time being. He had other issues, which he had more control over, to occupy his mind with right now anyway. After all, there was no use worrying oneself over something that he had no control over anyway.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione made sure to arrive especially early to training that morning, so she wasn't surprised that she was the first one there. She was however surprised that Harry and Ron arrived rather early as well. She was sitting in her chair staring up at the ceiling and twirling her wand around in her fingers when she heard the door open.

"Hermione!" cried Harry and Ron.

Together, the boys rushed forward and both enveloped Hermione in big hugs. Hermione laughed partly from surprise, but mostly because it felt good to be with her best friends again. They all knew that they still had some serious issues to discuss, but for now they were determined to be satisfied with just being together as friends again. They would deal with the important stuff some other time.

"You had us worried sick!" exclaimed Harry.

Hermione shrugged, "I just needed a break from my life I guess."

"I'm just glad you're back with us," smiled Ron. "I hope you're ready to deal with Kingsley though, he seemed pretty angry that you weren't here yesterday."

"I'll just tell him the truth."

The three of them talked until Michael and Toby arrived, and then the entire group chatted until Kingsley entered. Kingsley took a glance at the room and immediately began with the day's instructions. "I'm glad to see everyone here today," he gave Hermione a look. "Today you will be with you mentors all day, and tomorrow we will meet in the training room for a whole day of practical work."

The trainees all nodded at their instructions, but none of them seemed to enthusiastic about an entire day shadowing their mentors.

"Hermione we will go to the training room so you can make up the lesson you missed yesterday. The rest of you, your mentors are waiting in their offices. I will see you tomorrow."

The four boys got up and left the room. Hermione meanwhile stood and waited for Kingsley to lead the way. She stopped walking when she sensed he had something to say to her.

"We have some very important matters to discuss Hermione."

Hermione's expression turned solemn, but she nodded anyway.

"We will get to them after you have completed the obstacle course."

"Yes Sir," Hermione nodded.

Hermione focused all her energy into the obstacle course, but still did not perform as well as she knew she could have. She just couldn't get Draco's letter and their upcoming meeting out of her head. She was so looking forward to seeing him again, but at the same time she was worried, he didn't want her to be keeping secrets from him and she couldn't blame him. No one liked being in the dark, especially when they knew they were in the dark; that just made everything worse.

When she finished, she walked over to where Kingsley stood evaluating her progress. "We will work on improving your performance another time," he said gruffly.

Hermione nodded her head with a small frown; she hated not performing to her usual standard. She hung her head as Kingsley led the way from the training room to his office. She took deep breaths the entire way bracing herself for the lecture which was sure to come.

"I am very disappointed with you Hermione," Kingsley began once they'd arrived and he'd closed the door behind them. "Not just because of your absence yesterday, but also because of the risk you almost took with the Order's secrets."

Hermione frowned in defiance, but remained silent.

"I don't understand Hermione. This is the very reason why I taught you occlumency, so you would not have to give up any secrets to anyone," Kingsley shook his head with disappointment.

"Occlumency does nothing to help when he asks me a question," she argued, the 'he' referring to Draco of course. "Just because he can't penetrate my thoughts, doesn't mean that he can't see it written all over my face when I have to lie or hide something from him. The fact is I don't want to keep secrets from him, and no matter how hard I try to disguise it, when I am hiding something, it shows."

Kingsley began to reply, but Hermione cut him off, not even caring that she was being rude. "But you can spare us both the lecture. I've thought about it, and decided that for my own reasons and purposes telling Draco anything about the Order would only make him more suspicious." Hermione dropped her head along with her angry defiance. "You win."

Kingsley softened his generally dominating persona when he heard the tone of Hermione's voice. It almost sounded as if she was giving up. When he spoke, it was in a calm voice, "This isn't a competition Hermione. There are no winners or losers because we're all on the same team. We all care for each other, so it is the responsibility of us all to see to it that everyone is doing what's best for the group."

Hermione was frowning again, but this time from sadness. A solitary tear rolled down her check, "and what about the people we care about who are _not_ in the group? Why can't they at least be on the team too?"

Kingsley opened his mouth, but upon realizing he had no proper response, he closed it again.

Hermione, though she knew she shouldn't expect one, was looking to Kingsley for some meaningful response, a solution to her dilemma; dropped her eyes to the ground, turned and took a seat on the opposite side of Kingsley's desk. She just sat there staring into her lap, she didn't cry or get angry, she was just sad.

Kingsley stood in silence for several moments watching his young protégé. She was quite a remarkable witch for her age, or for any age for that matter. She was sure to be a success no matter what she did, but right now she seemed completely dejected, all because of Draco Malfoy. Kingsley finally began to realize that he had never fully appreciated the importance the young wizard had to Hermione. While Kingsley still found it difficult to trust someone he had once arrested as a Death Eater, he began to think that perhaps he, Dumbledore, and the rest of the Order should reconsider the young Malfoy. Perhaps, because of his relationship to Hermione, he was actually more of a threat to the success of the Order out of it than he would be if he were in it…

- - - - - - - - - -

Once Kingsley had dismissed her from training, Hermione apparated directly to the lobby of the Phoenix Grande. She was so eager to see Draco and to apologize again for everything that she didn't even notice the luxurious furnishings. Nor did she marvel at the dazzling crystal chandelier with what looked like hundreds of tiny fairies dancing around in it providing the light. Instead, she took a seat in the lounge area and tried not to look nervous as she waited for Draco. Since she had arrived nearly 30 minutes early, she practically drove herself mad just sitting and waiting, but she refused to move until she saw Draco. She couldn't help but glance at her watch just about every two seconds, which only seemed to make the time pass slower and increase her nerves. She did not by any means expect him to be early, in fact she would not be surprised if he was uncharacteristically late, maybe as a way to pay her back for her previous tardiness. She hoped that wouldn't be the case, but she couldn't totally blame him if it was.

When the second hand finally ticked to four o'clock, Hermione's heart sped up so fast it almost hurt. She told herself to calm down and relax, that he would probably be another few minutes at least. But she couldn't help but look around for him anyway, and to her surprise she saw him almost instantly. He was standing at the entrance between the lobby and the lounge staring at her, and she wondered just how long he'd been there without her noticing. His expression was not cold exactly, but it was not too welcoming either. His was face rather blank; as if he did not want to reveal whatever emotion he might be experiencing within. That however didn't deter Hermione's emotions from showing through in the least bit. The moment she saw him, sh stood up and beamed at him, she was so happy that she thought she might burst right there on the spot.

For a moment the two stood there, half a room apart just staring at each other, both oblivious to the hotel patrons mingling about around them. Unable to take the distance between them any longer, Hermione charged forward and launched her arms around Draco. She squeezed him so tight it was difficult for him to breathe, but he made no complaint, instead he returned the embrace, holding her firmly though not as painfully as she held him.

Hermione allowed herself to just take him in as they held each other. The feel of his arms around her, of his body next to her, his scent, everything about him; it all made her happy in a way hat nothing and no one else could. When they held each other it just felt like everything was okay, like the world was perfect. It was the greatest feeling in the world, and she never wanted it to go away. Before letting go, Hermione couldn't resist giving Draco a small, yet loving kiss.

When the finally released each other, even before their eyes met, Hermione launched into a whirlwind of apologies and pleading. "Please Draco, you have no idea how sorry I am about the other night and how terrible the past couple days have been without you. I love you so much and I hate fighting like this…"

Draco calmly placed his finger on Hermione's lips to silence her. "I don't enjoy fighting with you either you know."

Hermione took Draco's hand in hers and lowered it from her mouth. She stood on her tiptoes and gently, almost cautiously kissed him again. This time, he returned the kiss, but did not make a move to deepen it, instead he pulled away. Hermione, whose mind had nearly gone numb the she felt him kissing her back, was left feeling nervous and unsure. She knew they had many issues to discuss, but she had still hoped for a warmer, more joyous reunion than this was turning out to be. She began to doubt whether or not he'd missed her as much as she'd missed him.

She looked up hoping to see some emotion in his grey eyes, but he was not looking at her. He was scanning the room with an unreadable expression on his face. "Come on, I don't want to talk here." Draco took Hermione's hand and led her to the lifts.

Hermione looked around the lobby behind her as she allowed Draco to lead the way, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. 'Maybe he doesn't want to make another scene like at the restaurant,' she thought to herself glumly.

They did not speak in the lift the entire way up to Draco's room and Hermione couldn't even begin to fathom what thoughts were running through Draco's mind. But, Hermione noticed that he didn't stop holding her hand either, which she decided to take as a good sign.

Once they'd arrived at the proper floor, Draco unlocked his door and led Hermione in. Once inside, Draco dropped Hermione's hand and continued moving forward. Hermione stood just inside the doorway, and to avoid desperately staring at Draco, she took a moment to take in the surroundings. It was a gorgeous room with very plush, expensive furnishings. Exactly what she'd come to expect from Draco of course.

"Butterbeer?"

Hermione snapped her attention back to Draco and nodded vaguely. Draco retrieved two butterbeers and as he was removing the caps he raised his eyebrow and sent Hermione an amused smile, the first real trace of emotion she'd seen from him, "you do know it's okay to walk in and sit down."

A faint blush covered Hermione's cheeks and she walked over to the living room area and took a seat on the edge of the couch. Draco met her there and handed her one of the butterbeers before taking a seat next to her.

"Thanks," she whispered. She lowered her eyes to the bottle and stared at it, but didn't drink any.

Draco casually took a swig from his bottle, and then took to staring at the ground in front of him. There was so much he wanted to say to Hermione, but he still didn't know how best to say it. After a very long and uncomfortable silence, he decided on the direct, brutally honest approach. "You know Hermione," he finally began, "aside from my family, you're the only one who I've ever really let in. I've never cared for or trusted anyone else like that."

Hermione placed her butterbeer on the table and shifted so that she was facing Draco, "I know, and that's why I'm so-"

"No," Draco interrupted, "let me finish."

Hermione closed her mouth and stared at Draco intently, though he was still looking at the ground.

"I learned a long time ago that if I don't let people in, they can't really hurt me."

Hermione began to frown, and she was already working to hold back the tears she could feel welling up beneath her eyelids.

"And you…when you keep secrets from me, that hurts. And I can't deal with that Hermione; I can't take it. I can't stand getting hurt like that anymore."

Hermione could almost feel the dread swirling in her head, clouding all her thoughts. She shook her head, "No, no Draco please don't do thins, I love you, you know I do. And I've never kept my feelings for you a secret please know that!"

Draco raised his head up and stared Hermione directly in the eye. But his expression was not hard or angry as she had anticipated it would be. It was vulnerable and frightened in a way. "I can't deal with it, but I can't stop it. The fact is, I did let you in and I can never change that. There's no turning back. And the truth is, I don't want to change it, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. But that's why it kills me so much. I can't function right without you anymore Hermione. I was so angry with you that night at dinner, but that didn't hurt me nearly as much as not hearing from you for the next two days did. I felt like I was lost with nowhere to go. I hate that feeling, but the only cure for it is to be with you."

By then Hermione completely lost it. She threw her arms around Draco sobbing hysterically. She kissed his mouth and face several times before she'd calmed down enough to respond. "Do you think it was easy for me to go without seeing you or talking to you? It was torture, those two days felt like an eternity. And when I went to the Manor that morning, all I could think of was apologizing to you and making things better between us, all I wanted was to see you again. So when I saw your mother and she told me you'd broken up with me, I lost it. I didn't know what to do with myself."

"Really?" Draco sounded as if he really needed clarification.

"Yes," Hermione cried earnestly. "Draco one fight doesn't change the way I feel about you." She held his hands tight in hers, so tight that both their knuckles nearly turned white. "Draco do you remember all that stuff you wrote to me in your letter. About needing to be together even when you're mad, and feeling an unbearable pain when we're apart? Well I feel that too! It's torture, but that's what love is. And I wouldn't trade those feelings for anything in the world, because when we are together my world is perfect."

Draco shifted in his seat and shrugged as if this sudden overload of honest emotion was too uncomfortable for him to bear. "I just figured you didn't write cause you were too busy with Potter and Weasley to miss me much." He was trying to appear as nonchalant as possible to disguise how much the idea really bothered him, but the bitterness in his voice betrayed his efforts.

Hermione's heart sank knowing that he still thought she could so easily forget about him. "I didn't see them much after the next morning. I wasn't too thrilled with how happy they seemed to be at the prospect of us breaking up." Hermione paused for dramatic effect and to take in a breath. She couldn't tell Draco the real reason she had fought with Harry and Ron, but she hoped her little fib would serve its purpose. "Anyway, I blew up at them, and then I stayed at my parents' house until this morning. I didn't even go to training yesterday."

A lot of the tension, which had filled the room since they entered, seemed to disappear once Draco found out that Hermione had not spent her time away from him with her two guard dog friends. And since Draco didn't want to discuss them any longer, he focused on the other thing Hermione had said. He sent Hermione a look of disbelief, "You? Skipped training? I don't believe it."

"It's true," Hermione said with complete seriousness. She continued in a more solemn tone, turning her eyes up to Draco's, "What would have been the point, when all my thoughts would have been focused on you?"

There was a long and heavy silence in which the two just stared at each other. Draco's expression was difficult to read, but Hermione thought she might see a trace of guilt, or was it relief? She couldn't decide. But after several long moments when it became clear that Draco was not going to respond, Hermione decided to attempt to completely break the tension. "I mean honestly," she said with a casual wave of her hand, "we were practicing stealth training yesterday. Can you imagine how dismally I would have performed if my mind was in this hotel with you? As it is I did horribly at it today."

Finally, much to Hermione's delight, Draco cracked a small smile. She was getting through again, past that wall which Draco used to protect himself so diligently. "So," Draco said, going along with the lighter mood that their conversation had taken. "What _did_ you do all day then? Just hang around at your parents' house?"

"Of course not! I spent the day in muggle London. I saw a great show with my parents. We should go to one together sometime. It would be fun."

Draco scoffed, "Me? Go to a _muggle_ show? Over my dead body," his tone was completely serious, but Hermione managed to detect a playful glint in his eye. She almost got the feeling that he was challenging her; that is she pressed hard enough, in time she might just be able to get Draco to do it. It would be an exciting challenge to undertake anyway.

"So," Hermione ventured, returning to a more serious subject just because she needed closure on it. "Are we alright then? We can go back to being together and happy."

Draco stared into her pleading eyes as he considered the question. He really didn't want to continue fighting with Hermione, but he couldn't take knowing that she still held secrets from him either. "I want us to be alright, more than anything…"

Hermione sighed with a frown, "but…"

"But, the secrets Hermione, I can't take anymore secrets."

Hermione bit her lip, and looking into his eyes almost caused her resolve to break down. But instead, she managed to hold it in and settled instead on a half-truth. "The project I was working on, it was about dangerous magical creatures. Kingsley has me writing up on a ton of them so they can reconsider their monitoring policies and stuff."

Draco frowned, "and why is it 'dangerous' to tell me that?"

"I don't know, Kingsley's just cautious, and I think he still has trouble trusting you."

Draco grumbled, he didn't like remembering _that_ part of his life.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it," Hermione turned her head away; cursing the turn their conversation had taken.

"What about where you live? Or is that still a secret?"

"Draco I can't tell you. If I could tell you I would, but Harry's scar has been burning constantly lately, so Dumbledore had us perform a fidelius charm on the location to keep him safe."

Draco rolled his eyes, and spoke in a mocking tone, "and you're not the secret keeper, how convenient."

"Draco look at me please, I'm telling you the truth. If I could tell you, I would I swear to you I would."

Draco turned back to Hermione, he looked intensely into her eyes, but he did not see any indication that she was lying. Usually Hermione sent plenty of signals that told him when she was telling a lie, she wasn't very good at it. But today he saw nothing but truth in her eyes. He did believe that she wanted to tell him. And what she said made sense, in or out of Hogwarts; Potter would always be Dumbledore's golden boy so of course he would be annoyingly protective of the scar-head.

"I promise, I would tell you if I could and I don't even want to keep things from you again, it tears me apart inside."

Draco continued gazing at Hermione until he finally replied, "I believe you." He leaned his head forward touching her lips softly with his. Together they deepened the kiss. They each kissed with all the passion they had, neither wanted to stop because neither wanted to let go of what they felt by being together.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione and Draco sat in each other's arms for well over an hour, snogging every now and then when they got bored, but mostly just enjoying each other's presence. Hermione was snuggled against Draco, and Draco was absentmindedly rubbing his hand up and down her arm as he held her. Then, out of the blue, a question popped into Hermione's head, and before she stopped to consider whether or not is was a good idea to ask, it came out of her mouth; "what made you leave the Manor?"

Draco's hand stopped moving, and for a moment Hermione thought she had ruined their calm peace. "I couldn't stay there anymore with Narcissa."

"Why?"

"Ever since she returned she's been trying to break us apart. She's even got one of her friend's daughter's from France coming to stay at the Manor for a couple of weeks."

"What!"

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I said," Draco said as he wrapped his arms tighter around Hermione. "She's trying to control my life, just like Lucius used to do," he spat.

Hermione could feel the tension in Draco's arms, and to help relieve it, she brought one of his hands up to her lips and kissed it sweetly.

"It was like all of a sudden everything about the Manor disgusted me, and felt like a prison."

"I can definitely see how you could feel that way," commented Hermione matter-of-factly, she had similar thoughts about the Manor every time she stayed there, even before Narcissa had returned home it had felt like a large cold prison to her.

"Anyway, I decided that as long as Narcissa is there, thinking she has the right to control my life, I couldn't stay there."

Hermione tilted her head back so that she could see Draco's face; he was looking intently out at nothing. She could see the conflict in his eyes, and as much as it pained her, she knew what she had to do. She shifted out of Draco's arms and sat up facing him. "Draco, you should talk to your Mother."

Draco gaped at her incredulously, "what? You think I should let her control my life? Have you forgotten how horrible she was to you?"

"No that's not what I meant," Hermione interjected. "What I mean is, I know you care for your mother, and you should she's your family. And Draco, all parents try to hold on to the right to control their children's lives, they can't help it, they don't like to see their children grow up to the point where they are no longer needed."

Draco was wearing a stubborn frown, so Hermione continued trying to convince him.

"I'm not saying you should go over there right now. It's probably best if you both have some time apart to cool down, plus I'm not about to let you go anywhere anytime soon." Hermione moved so that she was sitting with her legs across Draco's lap, she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck, and he instinctively wrapped hi around her waist. She kissed him tenderly, but before she allowed either of them to get lost in another snogging session, she broke the kiss, and sent Draco a meaningful look, "but Draco you should talk to your mother. I'm sure she only wants what's best for you, so you need to remind her that you're a grown man and are fully capable of making your own decisions. But, you should not let this destroy the relationship between you and your mother forever. It's not worth it."

Draco sighed and let his head fall back so that he was looking up at the ceiling, some of what Hermione had said seemed to have gotten through and made sense to him. "Alright, I'll talk to her," he finally conceded. "But I want you to come with me."

"What!" Hermione cried. "No Draco, I really think that's a bad idea. Your mother already hates me, and the last time I went over there I looked a mess, so I'm sure she never wants to see me again."

"Well she's going to have to get used to it, I want her to know that I am going to make my own decisions no matter what. And I think it's important that she meet you, and that you meet her, because I don't want you two hating each other. Please Hermione."

Saying 'yes' went against every fiber in Hermione's being, not to mention against her better judgment. But when Draco looked at her like that, she just couldn't refuse him. 'Maybe it is better that we meet while Draco's there,' she reasoned. "But Draco, don't you think it would be better for you to try to fix things up a bit with your mother first, before you bring me into it?"

"No, I want her to see that we're still together, and how much we care for each other."

Hermione sighed, clearly she lost this one, and now she was stuck with having to meet Narcissa face to face again. At least time she'd be prepared, and better dressed for the occasion.

Draco could see the dread in Hermione's eyes, so he pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "I promise I will not let her speak to you like she did before, and if she does we'll leave. Alright?"

Hermione nodded, and buried her face into his neck, holding on as if her life depended on it.

- - - - - - - - - -

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry deep in thought. There were so many questions and uncertainties running through his mind. His pensieve of silvery liquid-vapor thoughts sat on the table in front of him swirling restlessly but providing no additional clues or answers. Dumbledore took off his glasses and massaged his temple, it had been far too long since he had received any definite information regarding Lord Voldemort's plans or whereabouts, and too much hung in the balance for him to be uncertain. There were just too many lives at stake.

Dumbledore's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of green flames in his fireplace. "Albus?" said the talking head from within the fire.

"Yes Kingsley, I am here." Dumbledore moved to a poufy armchair by the fireplace, "I presume you are here to talk about Miss Granger?" That was another issue that had been weighing heavily on Dumbledore's mind for the past couple days. Hermione, with all her intelligence and power, was a valuable asset to the Order, particularly because of her close friendship with Harry, which was why her behavior as of late had been disconcerting to say the least.

"Yes I am," responded Kingsley's head. "I spoke with her during her training today, and she informed me that she no longer intends to inform the young Malfoy about the Order or her tasks."

Dumbledore smiled, a bit of a twinkle returned to his faded blue eyes, "excellent, I knew she would see to reason once she'd calmed down." Kingsley however, did not look so relieved, which Dumbledore did not fail to notice. "Is something else the matter Kingsley?"

"Indeed there is Albus. Even though Hermione made the decision on her own, I do not know how long it will last. I have never seen her so devoid of spirit as she was today, she asked a question and though it was said somewhat rhetorically, I think she would have liked an answer. And even if I had wanted to, I would not have been able to give her one."

"What are you saying Kingsley?" Albus questioned with a thoughtful frown.

"I believe we all, including Harry and Ron, have underestimated just how important Mr. Malfoy is to Hermione. And if her recent behavior and attitude are any indication, Hermione will not be able to perform at her best as long as she is forced to keep secrets from him."

"Are you suggesting we encourage her to tell him about the Order? After she's finally decided not to on her own." Dumbledore asked.

"No," Kingsley shook his head. "What I am suggesting is perhaps we allow Draco himself into the Order."

If Dumbledore was shocked, or at all surprised by this suggestion, his face did not show it. Instead he appeared as calm and kind as ever as he took a moment to consider Kingsley's suggestion. "I am afraid, allowing Mr. Malfoy into the Order would cause far more problems for far more people. The majority of the Order still cannot trust him. In fact, I admit that I am a bit surprised by your suggestion because I had thought you were one of those people."

"I was," agreed Kingsley, "however I have a lot of trust in Hermione, and she trusts him, and I know that you trust him as well."

"I do, however I'm afraid Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley never will, there is too much animosity in their past for any of them to forget."

Kingsley's head nodded from the fire.

"I am sorry that Miss Granger has to balance so much, however I have confidence in her abilities, and the situation as it is now, though imperfect, is better than what it would be if we tried to force Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy to work together or even to be part of the same group."

"I understand Albus, but I do worry for Hermione, there is only so much stress anyone can take before something brings everything crashing down."

"Watch her carefully Kingsley, and offer support whenever you can. That's the most we can do at the moment."

"I will Albus"

"Thank you for keeping me informed Kingsley."

With another whoosh of green flames, Kingsely's head vanished from the fireplace, and Dumbledore returned to his desk. Though Kingsley seemed concerned for Hermione, Dumbledore felt relieved that he no longer had to worry about Mr. Malfoy knowing any Order secrets. With that one small comfort, he returned to his ponderings, occasionally stirring up a memory for further observation in his pensieve, trying to fit together the pieces.

* * *

**A/N: **Thanks to my readers and reviewers, you guys are the best! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, and as always I'd love to hear your thoughts in a review! (On a completely unrelated note, was anyone else as excited as I was about all the OotP promo pics that came out this week? YAY!)


	11. Missing Persons

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, he and his story belong to the amazingly brilliant J.K. Rowling.

**A/N: **First off, I am so so so sorry about the delay in updates. I am apalled with myself for taking so long because it isn't fair to all of you to have to wait so long. I hope you can forgive me. I would also like to thank everyone who has reviewed any of my fics because part of the reason why I have taken so long to update is because I have begun working on an original novel. The support I have recieved from all of you here is part of the reason why I started writing something of my own, and I am very grateful for it. So thank you.

Now, onto Harry Potter related topics, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and had a Happy New Year. I also hope you all are as excited as I was to learn the title of the final Harry Potter book, it's so exciting! Now that we have a title, my goal is to make sure that both the fics I am working on are finished before the final HP book comes out, so I am going to work my hardest to get it done.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I thank everyone ahead of time for sticking with it. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 11: Missing Persons**

Hermione woke up the next morning feeling as if the previous four days hadn't even happened. She felt completely relaxed and confident, confident that things would be better from now on. She smiled sweetly at Draco as he slept soundly beside her. She noted with interest that his brow was creased as if he was thinking really hard. 'Must be dreaming,' she mused to herself.

Hermione brought her hand to his face lightly stroked his cheek down to his jaw. Her fingers hardly touched his skin, yet the slight gesture seemed to calm his dreams for his face relaxed. Hermione smiled again and then shifted so that she could see the clock on the wall. She sighed when she found that she would have to start getting ready for training soon, she just didn't want to leave the comfort of the bed, or the happiness she felt in Draco's presence.

"Draco," she whispered as she stroked his face again, "Draco wake up."

Draco groaned and opened his eyes groggily. His eyes were hazy and he blinked several times as if he didn't believe Hermione was really lying next to him.

"Wake up sleepy head," Hermione teased with a giggle.

Draco smiled and brought his hand up so that it was covering hers, which was still on his face. He then guided her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.

"Good morning," Hermione smiled.

"Mmmm, yes it is," Draco agreed as he released her hand so that he could stretch.

"I'm glad you think so, you didn't look so happy while you were asleep. Did you have a dream or something?"

Draco stopped stretching and looked at Hermione with a curious expression. "I don't think so, not that I can recall anyway."

"Hmm," Hermione shrugged it off then made to get out of bed.

But Draco was too quick for her; he snatched her around the waist and turned her back towards him. Hermione laughed, it was definitely more fun to wake up like this. "And where do you think you're going young lady?" Draco asked in a mock patronizing tone.

"I think," began Hermione, going along with the game, "that I'm going to take a shower."

"Before giving me a kiss good morning? I think not."

"Of course!" cried Hermione with an overdramatic gasp, "how could I have been so thoughtless?" Hermione laughed as she wrapped her arm around Draco's neck. Draco responded by tightening his hold around her waist, bringing them so close together that their entire bodies were touching.

Almost at once their tender morning kiss turned into a very enjoyable morning snog. The only downside was when Hermione forced herself to put a stop to it before she completely lost herself. Neither party was too pleased about ending the fun, but Draco didn't complain when she finally broke away. The apologetic look on Hermione's face told him very clearly that it pained her just as much as it did him to stop.

While Hermione was in the shower, Draco ordered an exorbitant amount of food for breakfast and it was delivered just as she finished getting dressed. Hermione gasped when she saw all the food. "Wow! Is there a small army joining us for breakfast that you neglected to tell me about?"

"I couldn't decide what I wanted," retorted Draco defensively as he piled a little bit of everything onto his plate.

Hermione shook her head, amused at her boyfriend, and then selected a wide variety of foods herself. "So" she said once they had both settled down and started to eat, "are you going to talk with your mum today?"

Draco swallowed his toast and then took a rather large gulp of orange juice. The two then engaged in a staring contest of sorts, Draco was trying to get Hermione to relent; Hermione on the other hand was looking more stubborn and determined than usual.

"You're not going to get off my back about this until I do it are you?" Draco asked when he finally decided the staring contest was pointless.

"I just don't want to come between you and your mum," Hermione insisted, her stubborn glare fading to a concerned gaze.

"What's going on between Narcissa and I is not your fault."

Hermione pouted, "but it would make me feel a lot better if I knew you'd at least tried to work it out."

Draco was not about to let their pleasant morning turn sour because of his mother, so with a deep sigh of resignation, he conceded. "Fine, I'll go to the Manor today and try to work things out. But," he added before Hermione could speak again, "if it doesn't work out after I talk to her, can we please forget about it?"

Hermione wanted to say 'no absolutely not, we'll deal with it until it's resolved!' But she too was enjoying being together again too much to spoil it now. "Okay," she nodded, finding herself unable to say anything more.

"Thank you," smiled Draco as he pulled her in for a loving kiss.

The two spent the rest of their morning flirting, kissing and making plans to meet for dinner that night at a restaurant in Diagon Alley. When Hermione finally forced herself to leave, Draco insisted on apparating with her to the Ministry.

Once they'd arrived, Draco immediately pulled Hermione into a deep kiss that demanded more. As much as she tried to resist the temptation, she had just begun to really loose control of her senses when there was a loud clearing of the throat from right beside her. Hermione opened her eyes and wrenched apart from Draco, who had either not heard or had chosen to ignore the interruption. Hermione blushed scarlet when she saw her two best friends standing right beside her wearing un-amused looks on their faces. She became instantly flustered and fidgety, Draco however kept his arms wrapped around her and was completely unabashed, even a bit smug; he seemed to find the whole situation funny.

"Err…right, I've got to go," blustered Hermione as Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and turned away without a word.

"If you must," sighed Draco, making no move to release her.

"I'll met you at the restaurant," Hermione gave Draco a quick kiss and pried herself from his grasp, "don't be late!" she smiled as she took off after Harry and Ron.

"Same goes for you!" Draco called after her, not entirely joking.

Draco watched her rush through the long hall, already wishing he was with her again. His thoughts were so distracted by Hermione that he failed to notice the man who had followed the two of them since they'd left the hotel. Nor did he notice that that same man was now walking rather quickly down the same corridor Hermione had just raced through.

Draco hung around in the Ministry lobby for a few minutes thinking about what he should do for the rest of the day. He knew that the sooner he confronted his mother the better, because no matter what happened at least then it would be over with. However a very large part of him would have rather not gone to see her at all. 'Hermione will ask about it tonight,' he reminded himself.

He considered his options; one, he could not go to see his mother and just invent an encounter between them. He was positive he could make it sound convincing, then everyone would be happy and he wouldn't have to even see his mother. But then that nagging voice inside his head, which had never existed prior to his relationship with Hermione, spoke up and reminded him how guilty he would feel if he lied to her. Again a feeling that he had never experienced until Hermione came into his life. It was this nagging voice, which introduced the possibility that a talk with Narcissa could end positively. Maybe somehow he'd get her to see his side of the story and accept the manner in which he wanted to live his life. 'Not likely' his usual voice of reason countered. Draco huffed, he strongly believed that talking with Narcissa again would get him nowhere; she was just as stubborn as he was, so the likelihood of her backing down from her position was slim to none. But he'd give it a shot for Hermione's sake. The worst that could happen would be for him to leave and return to the hotel. So there was no real major downside anyway, at least not as long as Draco managed to ignore the part of him that cared about his mother. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

Draco did not allow himself to ponder the situation further; he knew if he did he'd think himself in circles and end up standing in the middle of the Ministry lobby looking like an idiot. So of course, as he was never fond of looking or feeling like an idiot, he dissaparated on the spot and a moment later found himself standing in the entryway of his Manor.

Deciding he would rather catch Narcissa off guard than shout for her, Draco quietly made his way though the Manor looking for either his mother, or one of the house elves who would be able to tell him where she was. He was walking through the hallway when he spotted Narcissa's personal elf stumble out of the breakfast room and into the hall holding a large silver tray above its head. Draco smirked to himself and strode in his usual arrogant manner into the room without bothering to knock. "Mother, I believe we have somethi…" Draco stopped dead in his tracks when he found that Narcissa was not alone in the room. Sitting across from her was a strikingly beautiful young woman just about Draco's age. She had long raven colored hair, which flowed, perfectly straight down her back, as well as deep blue eyes, which were presently gazing directly at Draco.

"Ah Draco, I'm so please you could join us," Narcissa smiled as if Draco had not just barged in on them. "Allow me to introduce you to Adrienne. Adrienne, this is my son Draco."

Draco stood motionless just inside the door, unable to remove his gaze from the girl in front of him and temporarily unable to recall the reason he had come in the first place.

Adrienne flashed her pearly white teeth in a smile, and stood up to curtsy to Draco. When the eye contact was finally broken, Draco shook himself out of his trance, and his reason for storming into the room returned to him. He nodded his head to Adrienne out of habit and politeness however he made no move to join the two women. Instead he cleared his throat and turned his attention to his mother. "Mother, may I speak to you for a moment?"

"Of course dear," replied Narcissa, "come sit down."

"No Mother, I'd like to speak with you alone."

"Draco, that is incredibly rude, to leave our guest all alone s soon after she's arrived. Especially considering how much she's been looking forward to meeting you. Isn't that right Adrienne?"

"Oh yes Mrs. Malfoy, I have been looking forward to this for a long time."

"Please dear, I told you to call me Narcissa,"

"Of course, my apologies Narcissa."

It was all Draco could do not to sneer at the haughty exchange and sickening formalities. Visions of the countless functions and balls his parents had dragged him to flew through his mind and he almost felt physically ill at the memories. However, he knew that if he was going to have any hope of getting through to Narcissa, he'd have to play her game. "I did not intend to be rude," he began, "however there is something rather personal that I would like to discuss with you for a moment mother. I'm afraid it cannot wait."

Narcissa scowled, she was not stupid, she knew very well what the topic of conversation was likely to be, and she was angry that Adrienne was not proving to be enough of a distraction to get Draco's mind off of his _filthy _girlfriend. "Fine," she spat through gritted teeth, "Adrienne if you'll excuse us, we'll be back in a minute."

With that Narcissa followed Draco into the room down the hall, which happened to be a study. Draco was leaning back against the desk glaring at Narcissa when she entered. Narcissa glared right back for a long moment before finally breaking the silence. "Well, what is it, we haven't got all day and you have a guest to attend to."

Draco scoffed, "no Mother, first off she's your guest, you invited her, I want nothing to do with her." Narcissa opened her mouth to interrupt, but Draco was too quick for her. "I came here with the intention of reconciling our differences. I know that you can't accept that Hermione is my girlfriend at the moment, so all that I ask is that you understand and respect my right to make my own decision in my own life."

"You are right about one thing Draco Malfoy, I cannot and will not accept that mudblood as being worthy of you. You are my son and you deserve better, you should know that. Clearly that _thing_ has done something to alter your mind, but I will correct that in time."

"Mother! You're not listening to me; Hermione has done nothing but good for me. She's the one who told me to come here to try to talk to you, but if you're not going to listen then I'm not going to try anymore!"

"Draco I've had enough of this, you're whining like a four year old. Now get in there and entertain Adrienne like a good host."

Draco let out a roar of frustration, "that's it Mother, I've tried my best. Goodbye." Draco calmly held the door open and gestured for her to leave.

Narcissa was silently fuming; she glared at her son, trying to cause him to back down. But he was just as stubborn as she or for nearly a minute the two stood glaring at each other wearing matching icy expressions. Finally, Narcissa spoke, her indignant tone illustrating just how furious she was, "You will regret this Draco; and I will be there when you realize your mistake. You will loose your interest in this _mudblood_ eventually, but I will _always_ be your mother. Remember that."

With that, Narcissa haughtily strode passed her son and out the door. Draco remained motionless at the door reflecting upon his mother's words until after he had heard Narcissa apologize to Adrienne and then both of them leave the Manor. It was only then that he allowed himself to exhale. "You're wrong Mother, and I will be here when you finally see that."

- - - - - - - - - -

The trainees spent the entire day tackling the obstacle course to practice their stealth abilities. Only this time the course was larger and more challenging than the first time. Now that Hermione had made up with Draco, she was able to perform nearly flawlessly each time. "Excellent Hermione!" congratulated Kingsley with an approving smile.

Hermione beamed, it felt wonderful to be performing her best again. By the end of the day she was exhausted but happy nonetheless. She did well in training, she was going to work on her Order task, and then end the day with Draco. Everything finally seemed to be balanced and going well, and the relief Hermione felt was indescribable.

At the end of training, Hermione stood with Harry and Ron in the Ministry lobby. "Guys Moody wants me to come for extra training tonight, so I probably won't be back until late."

"Oh, are you learning some difficult spells then?" questioned Hermione.

"I don't know what he's got planned, but I have a feeling that something big is coming that they're not telling us." Harry was now speaking in a whisper. "The last time I was with Moody, as I was leaving I overheard him talking with Dumbledore. It sounded to me like Snape has disappeared."

Hermione gasped.

"Yeah, I think they're worried that Voldemort discovered him as a spy."

"Oh no!" Hermione cried a bit louder than intended.

"Shhh!" Harry hissed. "So I won't be back until late, what are you two doing?"

"I've got a date," Ron said proudly, causing Harry and Hermione to roll their eyes.

"I'm going to do some research then go out with Draco," answered Hermione.

Harry sent her a stern look, but did not comment. Hermione knew that he was just worried for all their safety and his disapproval had less to do with Draco than it had to do with his general concern, so she did not comment. "Alright then," Harry said. "I'll see you both tomorrow morning then."

"Bye," agreed Ron.

"See you," nodded Hermione. As the boys made their way to the floos, Hermione walked to the muggle London entrance. She had decided to take muggle transportation in order to give herself a bit of a break between training and research.

As she waited for a train in the Underground station, she felt a strange sensation pass through her. A tingling, which made her feel as if something wasn't right. She did her best to shake it off, but it persisted even after she got on the train and sat down. Hermione glanced around the car, but other than a mother with her son and a rather shady looking man sitting in the corner behind her, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Once the doors shut and the train started, Hermione wanted nothing more than to get off. 'I should have just apparated,' she berated herself. Luckily, the Hall of Records was only one stop away from the Ministry of Magic, so Hermione did not have to wait too long to get out. Once she did get off the train, she took a breath so deep one might think that she had held her breath for the entire ride. Her relief was only temporary however, when as she rode up the escalator, she saw that the shady man who had been sitting in the corner was now walking towards the escalator as well.

Perhaps it was just Harry's concern that made her nervous, but for some reason she felt that there was something not right about that man. Once out of the station, she walked so fast that she was nearly running. And when she was forced to stop at a crosswalk, she saw to her utter dismay, the shady man was pushing through the crowd directly towards her. As soon as she was able to go, she bolted across the street and down the sidewalk. The weight of her bag tired her quickly, but she still kept going. She focused all of her energy on getting to the Hall of Records, where she would be safe and able to contact someone.

She darted into the alleyway and was mere feet from the door when there was a loud pop and Hermione barreled directly into whoever had apparated in her way. The collision caused her to stumble backwards, but before she hit the ground, two hands grabbed her and yanked her forward. Hermione opened her eyes to find that she had crashed into the shady man from the train; apparently he was a wizard. His hand was over her mouth before she could scream, and before she even had the chance to fight back, he had dissaparated them away.

Hermione wrenched away from her captor as soon as she felt her feet on solid ground. She dug into her pocket for her wand, but the man was too quick. By the time she spun to face him, his wand was aimed at her, and her wand was flying in the air as he disarmed her. In the next moment, she found herself bound with cords so tight she was sure they were cutting into her skin. She could not move, for when she did, the cords dug in deeper causing her to wince in pain.

"Let me go!" Hermione screamed.

The man casually silenced her, and then chuckled as he picked up her bag. Hermione shrieked and mouthed words of protests, but her efforts were silenced. And her struggle only served to make the man laugh harder. Her eyes widened in fear as the man pulled out her notebook with all of her notes from her Order task in it. He flipped through it and raised his eyebrows in exaggerated interest. "Hmm, interesting, perhaps my master would like a look at this." The man smirked, "I'll be sure to give it to him when he returns." With that, the man swept from the room, Hermione's notebook in hand. Leaving Hermione all alone and silently helpless.

Hermione's blood ran cold, her face was white and it was all she could do to not panic. She tried to maneuver her fingers around the cords in an effort to escape, but it was no use. She was beginning to loose feeling in her extremities due to lack of blood flow because of the cords, and she knew that the only chance she had at surviving was to remain calm and form a plan. But where was the hope, Harry and Ron wouldn't even know she was missing until tomorrow morning, and if Voldemort returned before then, she would probably be dead before anyone even knew she was gone.

Hermione felt tears form in her eyes at the thought of death. The idea that she would never see her friends again and that they too were at risk terrified her. And Draco, she had only just made up with him, she couldn't stand the idea of never seeing him again. When she felt the first tear roll down her cheek, she mentally slapped herself. She could not afford to break down now, she had to get it together and form a plan.

She began by surveying her surroundings. She saw that she was in a very old, dingy, rundown room that was covered in dust and looked completely inhabitable to her. 'Where am I?' she wondered. The house looked like it could fall apart any second at the slightest breeze. The wood was splintered and it reeked of mold, the windows were so covered in dust that she could not see through them. Many of them were cracked, and one even had a hole in it, which was the only way she was able to see outside. Though from the little she could see, she doubted that there was anyone for miles around. This certainly wasn't the type of place she imagined Voldemort adopting as a headquarters; then again, she wasn't sure that was what this was. Perhaps this was nothing more than a holding pen, a temporary prison for her to wait in, until he arrived and decided to kill her. The thought made her gulp.

The longer she stood, bound and alone, the more exhausted she felt. Her entire legs seemed to be going numb from limited blood flow, and the cords were making her entire body sore. There was a ratty old chair in the corner near the broken window and, despite its appearance it looked inviting to her. Hermione tried to hop over to it, but the cords cut into her skin and she fell halfway across the room causing a jolt of pain to hit her chest. She tossed around on the ground, but could not manage to stand or even sit back up. She might as well have been immobilized for all the good it did. In fact, she wished she had been immobilized, because then she wouldn't have tight cords cutting off her circulation.

So there she lay. She lost track of how long she was there, motionless and in pain. But the lack of blood flow was quickly taking its toll, and Hermione felt herself fading in and out of consciousness. She tried to focus on listening for any sound that would indicate something. But the minutes ticked by with nothing until she finally shut down and faded into darkness.

- - - - - - - - - -

After he had reclaimed the Manor back, Draco checked out of the Phoenix Grande and returned home along with Mimi. A sense of relief and control filled him when he returned to the Manor. He was home, he was no longer allowing his mother to control his life, and he and Hermione were back on good terms with each other. It felt good to have a life that was going well and under control.

That evening, Draco got to the restaurant about ten minutes early and decided to sit at the bar while he waited for Hermione. He sipped on a firewhiskey as he waited; he did not begin to get antsy until he realized that Hermione was five minutes late.

After a few minutes, he took a long sip of his drink and looked at the time again, the seconds were ticking on and Hermione still was not there. 'Probably got side tracked again,' he justified to himself. But when it got to the point where she was 20 minutes late, Draco knew something was wrong. He knew Hermione; there was no way she would be more than a few minutes late after what had happened last time. Draco didn't know what to do. He didn't want to leave only to have her arrive and see him not there. But on the other hand, he didn't want to sit there waiting like an idiot any longer either.

In the end he sat for another ten minutes, constantly watching the entrance like a hawk, but still there was no sign of Hermione. Finally, he slapped a handful of sickles on the counter for his drink and swept out of the restaurant. 'Maybe she went to the Manor instead,' he thought. But he doubted it; the plan had always been to meet at the restaurant; that had been Hermione's suggestion to begin with. Something else had happened and what frustrated Draco most was that he had no way to find out what was going on, because he had no way to get in direct contact with Hermione.

Once he'd apparated back to the Manor, he went directly to the study to write Hermione a note; he was rather proud of the way he was managing to keep his temper under control thus far, though at the same time he was expecting one hell of an explanation from her. He finished the note quickly and took it to Aries at once. It was the only way he could think of to find out where she was and what had happened, so while it wasn't his first choice, it was his only option. Aries was munching on a dead rat in the owlry when Draco interrupted his meal.

"Take this to Hermione right now, and make her give you a response before you leave," Draco ordered.

Aries, who normally would have squawked at an interrupted meal, seemed to understand the urgency in his owner's tone, for he did not make one hoot of complaint as Draco roughly tied the letter to his leg.

"Now go, and get there as fast as you can!" Draco called out the window.

Aries hooted in confirmation and flew off into the sunset. The eagle owl flew as fast as his wings would carry him, and luckily the breeze was in his favor. His instincts were taking him in a direction he had never flown before; especially not to get to the recipient he was traveling to. He felt the magical energy fade as he flew over a predominantly muggle area, and it made him incredibly uncomfortable. His senses went into overdrive, and while he would have preferred not to fly any further, Draco had demanded the letter get to Hermione in a hurry, and Aries was not the sort of owl who would disobey a direct order from his owner.

- - - - - - - - - -

The sun was setting outside the dusty windows when footsteps finally sounded on the old wooden floors. The figure sneered at the filthy girl who lay bound and unconscious on the floor. The figure aimed his wand at the girl and the cords disappeared. Her robes were torn from the tight cords, and red lines crisscrossed all over her hands, which were purple and bruised. The figure wrinkled his nose at the despicable sight and muttered in a snakelike voice, "enervate."

Hermione groaned and stretched before she could stop herself. She was expecting to feel the binding of the cords, but instead found that she was able to move around freely. She blinked in surprise, the optimistic side of her entertaining the hope that it was just a horrible nightmare and that the day hadn't even started yet. But when her eyes greeted her with the sight of the decrepit room and when she found the most frightening man, err thing, she had ever seen standing above her, she knew that this was no nightmare. This was real, and things had just gotten unbelievably worse.

"Miss Granger," Lord Voldemort hissed, "what a pleasure to see you again."

Hermione got to her feet, but did not speak; instead she glared at Voldemort with a resolute expression. She was determined not to show a hint of fear. If he was planning on killing her now then she was determined to die a true Gryffindor, brave until the very end.

"Nothing to say? Perhaps you are to afraid to address Lord Voldemort."

"You don't scare me," Hermione stated, showing no trace of fear.

Voldemort smirked, "ah yes, that infamous _Gryffindor_ bravery. I assure you it will get you nowhere with me."

"Then why bother talking to me at all, why not just kill me and get it over with?" spat Hermione. Since she was sure she would die, her courage was making her reckless. It didn't matter how much she pushed him if she was going to die. And since she had no wand to defend herself, she would fight as hard as possible with words, the only weapon she had.

Voldemort chuckled, it was a sound that sent chills up her spine, and they were not the good kind of chills, but the ones that froze her in her place. "You would like that wouldn't you? Yes, you would much rather I kill you before I strip you mind of its secrets."

Hermione tried not to show her surprise, but some of it must have shown on her face.

"Yes, I know you are a member of Dumbledore's bloody Order of the Phoenix, and I will learn all you know before I kill you. "

"Well then you will be disappointed," Hermione shot back. "Because I know nothing about Dumbledore's plans."

"Hardly surprising," mused Voldemort in an offhand tone. "No intelligent person would trust any real secrets with a teenage _mudblood_. However, lucky for you, you are more valuable to me alive than you dead at the moment."

Hermione had no idea what Voldemort was talking about, and she could find no reason why Voldemort would find her valuable to him if not for Order secrets.

"Perhaps you are wondering what I mean," Voldemort interrupted Hermione's thoughts.

Hermione quickly stopped thinking and closed her mind, reminding herself that Voldemort was possibly the greatest legilmens in the world, including Dumbledore, and she could not risk him seeing any thoughts no matter how trivial they might seem to her.

"You Miss Granger are the bait." Voldemort paused, allowing her time to think.

Hermione gasped, "Harry," she breathed.

Voldemort chuckled, clearly enjoying the emotions playing across his prisoner's face, "Indeed, Potter would come to rescue just about anyone, but that is not the only reason I chose you. You are the _only_ one who will lead the other one I want into my trap as well."

Hermione felt her heart stop, "no!" her cry came out in a whisper, and it delighted Voldemort to no end.

"Yes," Voldemort hissed, "you are the only one who will be able to lead both Potter, and the traitor directly to me. So enjoy your life while you can Miss Granger, because after you have led them to their deaths, you too will die. Or perhaps I will let you live after I kill them, a long and terrible life."

"You will never win, they'll kill you and then we will all laugh at your ugly rotting corpse!" Hermione yelled.

"Crucio!" Hermione hadn't even seen Voldemort whip out his wand before the pain was upon her. The fiery needles killed her already tender bruised skin, and after a time she was in too much pain to even scream. It was only when she was on the floor and felt herself slipping out on consciousness again that the curse was lifted.

Hermione mustered up the strength to send a glare at Voldemort, but he took no notice. Instead, from the depths of his robes, he removed an item that was very familiar to Hermione, her notebook. Voldemort flipped it open and pretended to peruse through it. "Magical creature lists," Voldemort mused, "interesting. You seem to have paid special attention to which wizards they have associated with in the past. Good to know Dumbledore is intending to form an army with some of these groups. It gives me a head start in contacting them."

Hermione did not have the strength to form a comeback; she was using all her energy just to stand up again.

Voldemort threw the notebook at her feet, "I have wasted too much time in the presence of filth, enjoy living while you have the chance. I'm sure you will be seeing your rescuers soon, not that they will be able to do much."

Before he left, he cast some sort of charm that created a silvery ring of mist around her. Hermione was certain that this was some sort of cage, and she was not daring enough to find out what would happen if she tried to pass through the ring. Long after Voldemort had left, Hermione was lying on the dusty floor staring up at the ceiling. A feeling of hopelessness engulfed her, and for the first time since she'd been kidnapped, she allowed herself to cry.

As the tears flowed, she hoped against hope that neither Draco nor Harry would come searching for her. She did not want their lives to be put in danger because of her. But there was nothing she could do about it, there was nothing at all to do now, but wait and pray that everything would turn out all right.

Hours later, in the dead of night Hermione was sitting on the hard wooden floor. She couldn't sleep, all she could think of was her friends, family and Draco. Harry and Ron wouldn't even notice she was missing until the next day, but Draco would know something was wrong. 'Right,' she thought to herself sarcastically, 'and the first thing he'll think is, I'll bet she was kidnapped by a death eater and brought to an abandoned house somewhere to be taunted by Voldemort.'

No, if she knew Draco, he would be livid with her, and probably would wait for her to contact him. The thought of Draco being angry with her nearly caused her to break down again, she needed him right now, more than she needed anyone else.

She allowed herself to get lost in memories of times she and Draco spent together. She was so deep in thought that she did not hear the owl hooting through the crack in the glass. But she did hear the shattering of the window. She jumped at the sound, and was so excited to see Aries fly in through the window (which was now even more shattered) that she forgot about the silvery mist surrounding her, and ran right into it.

The second she touched it, her entire body exploded in pain, she screamed so loud that had there been anyone in the surrounding area, they would have heard it for sure. Aries flew back at the sound and seemed too afraid to approach her again. But Hermione ignored the pain and focused on the bird, "Aries," she whispered urgently, for she was not sure if she was alone in the house or not, "Aries you have to go, go back to Draco, it's not safe here!"

Aries squawked and ruffled his feathers as if in disagreement, he pecked at the knot on his leg until he had freed himself of the letter. He then took the letter in his beak and flew halfway across the room until Hermione cried out again.

"No! You can't come in here, it will hurt you too! Just please go back to Draco, make him understand how much I love him, make him understand how sorry I am!"

Aries nudged the letter across the floor.

"Aries I can't read his letter, you can't get it through the mist, just go!"

Aries didn't like the feel of this place, and with Hermione urging him to go, he managed to ignore Draco's order from before. Feeling a mixture of reluctance and relief, the owl flew back to the windowsill.

"And Aries," Hermione called, her voice sounded tired, as if her throat was sore.

Aries turned his head back to Hermione, whose eyes were now shining with renewed tears.

"Say goodbye to Draco for me," she said with a sob.

Aries wanted to fly to her shoulder, and offer what little comfort it was possible for an owl to offer. But instead all he was able to do was hoot in reassurance and fly out the window.

Seeing Aries leave was like twisting a knife in her chest. At that moment she wished she had a knife so she could end her misery then. But as soon as the thought entered her head, she slapped it away. Thinking like that would do her no good. Besides, Harry and had faced Voldemort before and saved the day, and Draco had saved her before as well. Hermione just wasn't used to being the one who needed saving, and she did not like it one bit.

As she gave herself a mental pep talk, her eyes fell upon Draco's note, which Aries had left behind. She knew someone, either Voldemort or a Death Eater would find it, and she was terrified at what it might say. It was too far away to reach even if she stretched, and there was no way she was touching that silver mist again, it was as painful than the cruciatus curse, and she wasn't about to inflict that sort of torture on herself voluntarily. That would just be something she'd have to deal with later, until then all she could do was sit and hope.

To prevent the despair from overwhelming her, Hermione tore a page of parchment from her notebook and loaded a quill with ink. She was not about to live long enough to allow Voldemort to use her as bait, but before she did anything about it, there were some things she needed to say. And so she wrote, pouring her heart out onto the page, and writing all the things she had never said to everyone she cared about I her life.

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I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts in a review! Thanks.

passes out a box of chocolate frogs to each reviewer.


	12. Where's Hermione?

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own Harry Potter, and now that J.K. Rowling had completed Deathly Hallows it's certain I never shall. So instead I continue to write fanfics based on her marvelous stories.

**A/N: **First I'd like to ask, was anyone else as devastated and excited to hear about the release date for Deathly Hallows as I was. I almost cried when I found out. Now I'm excited of course, but it's still sad to think it's going to be the end.

Anyway, back to this fic, I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed chapter 11 even though I was terribly slow about updating it. It means a lot to me that all of you have stuck with this story and this trilogy thus far, especially as we begin to near the end.

Without further delay...chapter 12!

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**Chapter 12: Where's Hermione?**

Draco did not sleep that night. After hours of brooding on yet another broken date with Hermione, his mother's words were once again taking over his conscience. His overall frustration coupled with his anger and lack of sleep resulted in an unusually foul temper and dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles on his pale skin gave him the unflattering appearance of a zombie.

The sun was just beginning its assent over the horizon, which Draco watched from a lounge chair out on the balcony of his room. He gazed into the sunrise thinking of all the turns his life had taken, particularly since he had begun dating Hermione. He had thought the changes were all good, but from where he sat now, he realized just how much more confusing his life had become. Drama and complications seemed to wait for him at every turn, and just when he thought everything was going smoothly, things would get worse.

Draco sighed and ran his hand through his hair; he could feel a headache coming on. He was exhausted, but not just from lack of sleep, he was emotionally exhausted as well. Draco pulled the small box containing Hermione's gift out of his pocket and opened it. He sighed once more, a deep melancholy sigh as he looked at the gift he had never given her.

It was a ring, an opal ring in a platinum setting. The stone was a deep blue with hints of purple and green depending on how the light hit it. As soon as he had seen it, he had pictured Hermione wearing it. He had imagined her chocolate eyes shining bright and her mouth smiling wide as he slipped it on her finger. He had wanted to wait for the perfect time to give it to her. But with everything that kept creeping up between them, the right time never came, and now they hadn't even been able to go two days without something else getting in the way. "Maybe we were right in the beginning," Draco mused, "maybe we were just never meant to be."

Draco was contemplating throwing the ring towards the trees as hard as he could, but before he had fully made up his mind, a loud squawking interrupted him. He snapped his attention to the sound and subconsciously returned the box with the ring to his pocket. He was rather alarmed to find Aries speeding towards him and squawking like some sort of demon. Draco jumped out of his chair and ran towards the bird as Aries landed on the balcony handrail.

"Aries what is it? What happened?" Draco demanded.

Aries hardly even paused to catch his breath, he beat his wings hard and clicked his beak; clearly something was very wrong. Draco also noticed that he did not have a response from Hermione. So either something had attacked Aries on the way home and the owl had lost the note, or he'd never gotten a note in the first place. If that was the case, then Draco didn't know what to think. Not knowing what else to do at the moment, Draco decided to tend to his owl. He cast a light sleeping charm on Aries so that he could examine him properly for signs of an attack. Draco thoroughly examined him, he looked at both sides of Aries' wings but saw nothing. There was no sign of any sort of attack or struggle, which left Draco completely perplexed. What could have possibly frightened Aries enough to send him speeding all the way home without a note?

Draco shook his head; he didn't want to entertain the thought that Hermione could be in danger. As he carried the sleeping Aries to the owlry, he decided that he would apparate to the Ministry before Hermione's training. That way he'd be able to confirm that she was fine, as well as get an explanation as to why she missed their date again and to why she did not reply to his letter.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione jolted awake from an anxious sleep. She looked all around the room, but other than the dust floating around in the sunbeams, which were streaming in through the dirty windows, the room was completely empty. As she looked around, her eyes once again feel upon Draco's letter. The thought of him, and of what that letter might contain brought a renewed sense of helplessness and sadness to her heart.

She closed her eyes and breathed deep, but before she could calm herself, the door to her prison room burst open. Though she hadn't been aware of it, she had been expecting Voldemort to be the one who was storming in, however she was mistaken, though this person was just as frightening in Hermione's opinion. A surge of pure hatred coursed through Hermione as her eyes fell upon Bellatrix Lestrange, the very one who had murdered Sirius. Hermione hated the woman for the pain she had put Harry through, and also for the pain she had put Neville through in torturing his parents to insanity. That thought caused Hermione to gulp involuntarily, she did not want to be tortured to insanity; she would rather die.

Hermione got to her feet and stared at Bellatrix, her face filled with defiance. She could not see the older woman's eyes behind the ebony curtain of hair that surrounded her face, but nevertheless, she could feel Bellatrix's heartless gaze boring into her. Hermione chose not to speak; she would wait for Bellatrix to make the first move; after all, there was really no need to speed things along. Hermione was not looking forward to anything this woman had to say or do to her.

Bellatrix slowly made her way to the center of the room, just beyond the ring of silver mist, which continued to surround Hermione. Finally she turned to face Hermione, revealing her cold hate-filled eyes, which were glittering with malice, and her thin lips, which were curved down in a sneer. Bellatrix raised her wand and Hermione instinctively tensed and backed away. But Bellatrix seemed to take no notice; instead she gave a graceful wave of her wand, causing the silver mist to vanish. Hermione immediately backed away, more because she was able to move than because she was afraid.

"Frightened mudblood?"

"Not of you," Hermione lied.

"You should be." Bellatrix twirled her wand between her fingers; "the Dark Lord feels that you might have more valuable information for him, with you being so close to Potter and all." Bellatrix spoke as if she and Hermione were having a friendly conversation. "So let's see how cooperative you can be." Without warning, Bellatrix waved her wand.

Hermione, who had not been entirely prepared, felt the momentary lightheadedness and saw flashes of memories which were indicative of the legilmens spell, before she was able to shut Bellatrix out with her occlumency skills.

The pressure eased right away when Bellatrix realized she'd been shut out, "practiced occlumency have you mudblood?'

"I'm surprised you were able to figure that out," spat Hermione, "I was unaware your brain was capable of thought without your precious Voldemort to tell it what to think."

"How dare you speak the Dark Lord's name! Crucio!!"

The spell hit Hermione like a thousand white-hot knives stabbing every inch of her body all at once. It took all she had not to drop to the floor and scream. She could feel her strength weakening and her knees shaking wildly. Thankfully, the curse did not last too long, and within a couple minutes, Hermione and Bellatrix were once more staring each other down.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" Bellatrix brandished her wand, "legilmens!"

Despite the weakened state that the cruciatus curse had left her in, Hermione was prepared this time so she managed to keep her mind completely closed off to Bellatrix's intense attempts at intrusion. Blocking out Bellatrix was much harder than blocking Kingsley out, but Hermione's determination was indomitable. Hermione could feel Bellatrix's advances into her mind pounding against her skull, but still she did not let the Death Eater in.

Bellatrix let out a cry of anger at her failure to penetrate into Hermione's mind. With a swish of her wand, the curse was lifted, but Hermione hardly got a moment's pause before the blinding pain of the cruciatus curse was upon her again. This time, Hermione could not help but fall to the floor whimpering. It was all she could do not to scream, she did not want Bellatrix to gain the satisfaction of knowing just how much pain Hermione was in. Hot tears were trailing down her cheeks, and she could see white dots of light appearing in front of her, clouding her vision and her mind.

Hermione had just reached the brink of consciousness when the pain vanished. For a moment, she kept her eyes shut and concentrated only on breathing and regaining her hold on consciousness. The ringing in her head was so loud that she did not hear the whispers of a third voice in the room, nor the footsteps, which walked across the room before the owner of the feet lifted something off of the ground.

"Stand and face me mudblood," hissed Lord Voldemort.

Hermione's face instantly hardened as she stood, she did her best to disguise the fact that her entire body was trembling. But from the amused sneer Voldemort was wearing, she knew she had failed. Voldemort waited with both hands down at his sides until Hermione was standing straight and glaring at him with a hardened expression.

He then lifted a folded sheet of parchment in front of him so that Hermione could see.

Hermione gasped, it was Draco's letter. She had no idea what it said, and now it was in the hands of the very last person she wanted to read it.

Voldemort, as if sensing her dread, slowly unfolded the parchment and began to read in a cruel voice;

_Hermione,_

_You know I wasn't kidding when I said don't be late this morning, yet there I sat waiting for you to not show up **again**. I really don't know what to say or do anymore Hermione; I thought we had finished with this shit. I hope you have a good reason for not being there, but honestly, how many more excuses do you expect me to take? No more Hermione, I can't handle our relationship being this way anymore. I know you're still hiding things from me, and I don't like it. Just tell me what happened, the truth._

_Draco_

Hermione could feel her heart break inside, though it did not show on her face. She knew that Voldemort was trying to weaken her, and she would not let him. She had to keep her mind strong and closed off, she refused to let the monster before her beat her.

"It appears as though I've caused you to miss a date with your beloved traitor."

Hermione's glare intensified and she could feel her blood begin to boil.

"What are you hiding from your traitorous boyfriend?" he hissed.

His foul breath stung Hermione's senses and nearly caused her to vomit, but still she did not speak. She could almost feel him lurking around in her mind, searching for thoughts. It was quite different from the way Bellatrix or Kingsley had invaded her. Voldemort was far stealthier about it, and before she could stop it, he managed to break through. First she saw flashes of Order meetings. Voldemort perused those thoughts at his leisure, completely unconcerned with Hermione's desperate efforts to rid him from her mind. But she still had no wand to protect herself with, and therefore no real way to force him out, until, to her great surprise he left of his own free will.

"I must say I'm shocked, it appears as though your own boyfriend does not know of your activities within the Order."

Hermione felt her cheeks color. She mentally kicked herself for not being able to control her reactions to his taunts, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Perhaps he is not as much of a traitor as I gave him credit for," mused Voldemort.

"He was never willingly faithful to you and you know it!" shouted Hermione, finally unable to contain her rage.

Voldemort sneered and forced his way inside Hermione's mind once more. This time he seemed to be hardly glancing at her thoughts before shoving them aside for the next until he reached one that was stored in the back of her mind. One that she hated reliving because it caused her so much pain, but Voldemort felt the mental barriers she had built up around it. He forced his way through the invisible mental walls and viewed the memory in its entirety.

Tears of hurt, pain and loss leaked down Hermione's face as she relived the memory from sixth year when Lucius had nearly killed her with the frozen death spell, only to have nearly murdered his own son when Draco took the spell instead. Even now, when she knew Draco was alive and well, she could not erase the feelings of pure terror she had felt when she had though he would not make it.

Voldemort fed upon all these horrible feelings, it was almost as if he was a dementor with the way he was deriving so much pleasure from her pain. Hermione was screaming in a physical effort to extricate Voldemort from her thoughts, and finally it worked.

"I will assure that you are alive enough to witness his death, as well as your friend Potter's, just so you can experience that pain again before you die as well."

Hermione grit her teeth and blinked back the tears the memory had brought. There was no hope of hiding the pain and sadness she felt upon reliving that memory. She found herself praying that Draco was so mad at her that he did not come to her rescue again. She did not want to even thinking about living through that kind of pain again, even if it was only for a second.

Whether Voldemort could read her feelings or he was just angry at her silence, Hermione couldn't tell. Either way, Hermione suddenly felt those white-hot needles of pain from the cruciatus curse setting fire to her nerves yet again.

"You know, originally I planned on killing them the moment they arrived. Now however, I believe I would rather torture tem first. A good, long, painful, torture," Voldemort stressed every word, "so you can watch them writhe at my feet. And then, once they are begging for mercy, I will grant them death."

Even as Voldemort tortured her, his words lit a fire of rage within her soul. She was not conscious of her own screaming, which was not of pain, but of fury. It was as if she was not in control of her actions as she ran towards Voldemort and rammed him with all her might. Something else was driving her now, something that Voldemort could never touch, destroy or even comprehend. It was her love; the intense love she felt for her family, her friends, and the deepest love she felt for Draco.

The unexpected hit from Hermione caused Voldemort's cruciatus curse to break, but Hermione did not get a moment to breathe before Voldemort hit her with a curse that sent her flying across the room. She slammed into the wall behind her so hard that it shook and caused clouds of dust to billow throughout the room. Her head smacked so hard against the wood that her skull gave a painful crack just before she fell down to the floor and blacked out completely.

Satisfied that his infuriating prisoner was going to be out for quite some time, Voldemort decided that it was time to move on to more important matters. He cast the silvery mist around Hermione just as he'd done before, so that in the off chance she came to, she would not be able to go anywhere or try anything. He then swept from the room without a word or even a second glance towards the fallen girl.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco arrived at the Ministry a good half hour before Hermione's training was scheduled to start. He paced around the fountain looking grumpy and impatient. After fifteen minutes of relentless pacing, he was beginning to attract the attention of the security wizard at the front desk. The man was eying Draco with a suspicious glare to which Draco responded with a huff and a haughty smirk. The effect however was lost when, a second later, Draco doubled over from the shock of the sudden and intense pain caused by the burning on his left forearm. Draco stood and clutched his arm tight in an attempt to hide the pain, but it clearly showed in the grimace on his face.

Thankfully for Draco, the pain subsided just as suddenly as it had begun, and Draco was able to resume his restless pacing, although now he had even greater cause for concern. He did not want to entertain the notion that the burning in his arm could have something to do with Hermione, but as that was the first thought that entered his mind, it was rather difficult to ignore.

His worries were temporarily sidetracked when he saw Potter and Weasley on the other side of the fountain. He stomped towards them until the three met at the center of the lobby.

"Where's Hermione?" all three asked at once.

"Very funny," Draco spat, "but I'm serious where is she?"

"You should know," argued Ron, "You're the one she went out with last night."

A cold sweat broke out on Draco's forehead, "I swear Weasley if you're joking right now, I will punch you so hard you'll be lucky to wake up again." Draco clenched his fist in preparation.

Harry grabbed Draco's arm before he could take a swing, "Malfoy what's going on? Why are you here?"

Draco shook his arm out of Harry's grasp and glared at him. "I'm here to talk to Hermione, where is she?"

"We thought she stayed over with you," answered Harry, looking alarmed.

Draco frowned and felt his heart speed up, "are you telling me you don't know where she is?"

"No you idiot, don't you?" shouted Ron.

"She never showed up last night, I sent her a note, but Aries came back with no response. When's the last time you guys saw her?"

"We saw her here, she was going to the Hall of Records, then out with you," Harry's mind was reeling; Hermione couldn't be missing, she just couldn't be. "Okay, Ron go check Kingsley's office, I'll see if she's at her house, then meet back here."

"Wait what about me!" Draco demanded.

"Malfoy just wait here, we'll be back in a minute," Harry answered before disapparating on the spot.

Ron meanwhile dashed off towards the lifts; Draco started after him, but was frozen in place by the security wizard. "I'm sorry sir, but only Ministry workers and approved guests are allowed outside the lobby," the wizard smirked smugly at Draco.

"WHAT! That's a load of rubbish and you know it!" argued Draco.

The security wizard chuckled, "unfortunately for you, I have the privilege of deciding who uses the lifts, and you are not allowed."

Draco wrenched away from the security wizard, but remained in the lobby. As the security wizard returned to the desk, Draco muttered angry threats about getting the Minister involved, and about idiots who don't know how to do their jobs properly. But the security wizard was not listening, and Draco returned to pacing a hole in the floor while muttering darkly.

A moment later, Harry apparated back into the lobby, but was not wearing a hopeful expression. "She's not there," he answered Draco's unasked question.

Draco's heart was really speeding now, but he did not know what to say or do. He subconsciously rubbed his left forearm; now he was almost certain that Hermione's absence had something to do with the reason why his Mark had burned.

"Malfoy! Malfoy!"

Draco snapped his head to attention, "what?"

"What's wrong with you? Did you not listen to a word I said, Hermione could be in trouble."

"You have no idea," muttered Draco under his breath.

"What?" Harry was growing frustrated. He glanced towards the lifts, but Ron had still not returned.

"Nothing Potter," Draco spat, "where's Weasley?"

Harry frowned at Draco but said nothing. He again turned towards the lifts and this time saw Ron push his way out of once and race across the room. "She's not there," he gasped. "Kingsley said to report home while he contacted Dumbledore, and the others."

"What? What others? What's going on?" demanded Draco.

"Nothing Malfoy," Ron dismissed Draco's questions.

"Bloody hell Weasley, this is about Hermione, I have a right to know!"

Harry and Ron exchanged a meaningful look that was not lost on Draco.

"Just go home Malfoy, we'll deal with it and let you know when we find her," Harry growled.

""No! I'm going to look for her too, you can't always be the hero Potter!"

"This isn't about being a hero Malfoy, this is about Hermione."

"And I want to help if something's happened to her!" Draco was fuming by now, his yelling had attracted the attention of everyone in the Ministry lobby, but neither Harry nor Ron seemed to care.

"Malfoy, just go, we're wasting time, we'll let you know when we find her," Harry dismissed him again and this time he and Ron dissaparated before Draco could argue further.

Draco roared in anger, causing the entire lobby to stop whatever they were doing and stare at him with awkward expressions. The security guard looked ready to arrest Draco for breathing wrong, and seeing how there was no reason for him to stay here, Draco apparated back to the Manor.

- - - - - - - - - -

The moment Harry and Ron arrived in Grimmauld Place, they bolted to the meeting room where they were met by Dumbledore and Kingsley. Dumbledore did not hesitate one second before he asked, "where and when did you last see her?"

Yesterday after training," Harry spoke up at once, "she was going to the Hall of Records and then out with Malfoy. But Malfoy came to the Ministry this morning looking for her. He said she never showed up last night."

Dumbledore nodded, "Kingsley, I need you to go to the Hall of Records, find out if you can, if Miss Granger was there last night."

Kingsley gave a curt nod, and then dissaparated without a word.

As soon as Kingsley was gone, other Order members began to arrive. First came Tonks, then Molly Weasley, Moody, Professor McGonagall, Lupin, and finally Arthur Weasley.

"What's going on?" Lupin asked, "do you have news about Snape?"

"No, I fear the worst for Severus, however now it appears as though Miss Granger has gone missing as well," Dumbledore replied in a weary tone.

The Order members gasped, Mrs. Weasley in particular went white with shock and immediately crossed the room to envelope Harry and Ron in a tight hug., "no! How could this have happened Albus?"

"We believe-"

But Dumbledore did not get the chance to explain before Kingsley returned with a pop. Dumbledore and the others looked at him anxiously.

"The receptionist witch knew exactly who I was asking about, but she says that Hermione was not at the Hall of Records yesterday."

"I thought not, however that does make this news even more distressing."

"What are we going to do Albus?" Professor McGonagall's voice cracked with worry. Hermione had always been her favorite student, and the thought that she was in danger was almost too much for her to bear.

"You don't think she's…" Ron couldn't bring himself to voice the question that was lingering in the back of everyone's mind.

"I don't think so," Dumbledore shook his head, and a half-sigh of relief was felt throughout the room. "I believe that Voldemort would have wanted to make it clear to us and to the rest of the world if he had killed her, besides I do not think he would kill her before trying to get information out of her."

"Dumbledore, I think we can all agree that it is unlikely that a Death Eater simply stumbled upon Hermione and managed to kidnap her," Moody said.

"What are you suggesting?" asked Tonks.

"I'm suggesting that she was their intended target, which would mean that to know where she was they would have had to have been following her."

"But why Hermione? She's not the one Voldemort is after," said Tonks with a swift glance at Harry.

"I am wondering that myself," mused Dumbledore. "I can only suppose he is attempting to lead us into a trap."

"But we don't even know where they've taken her!" cried Ron.

"Perhaps Harry is not the only one this trap is intended for," Kingsley thought aloud.

Questioning gazes from the rest of the Order members focused upon Kingsley until Harry could not take it anymore, "We can't just stand around talking! We've got to go rescue her!"

"It will not do Hermione any good for us to make ourselves vulnerable by blindly rushing around searching for her," Dumbledore reassured in a calm yet firm tone.

"But Dumbledore, without Snape how will we be able to find where they're keeping her without risking lives?" asked Molly, "and what do you mean about the trap not being intended to lure Harry to her rescue?" she shot at Kingsley. "He's done that more than once in the past."

Kingsley did not answer Mrs. Weasley directly; instead he and Dumbledore seemed to be sharing a look of understanding. "He will be able to tell us where they are Albus."

"We already agreed that allowing him in would not work," Dumbledore disagreed.

"That was before she was in real danger, now I believe this is our best bet."

Dumbledore turned towards Harry and Ron and looked at them as if he was sizing them up; they both looked beyond frustrated with the lack of quick action for their friend. "I agree," Dumbledore finally said.

"Agree to what?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"We are going to invite Mr. Malfoy to join the Order," answered Dumbledore.

"What!" Harry and Ron shouted. The rest of the Order did not look entirely pleased by the pronouncement either.

"That ferret will only make things more difficult for the rest of us," argued Ron, while Harry glared daggers at Dumbledore.

"It is the quickest way to find Hermione," Dumbledore stated.

"How? We saw Malfoy right before we came here, he doesn't have any better idea of where she is than we do!" Harry spat.

"The moment Voldemort calls the Death Eaters, Mr. Malfoy will know exactly where they are, and most likely where Miss Granger is as well."

"Then just force him to tell us where they are, don't invite him into the Order!" shouted Harry.

"The more people we have working to find her, the greater the chance is that she will return safely. It will be much better to have Mr. Malfoy working alongside us rather than apart from us," Kingsley stated in his usual authoritative tone.

"I will go discuss it with him now," said Dumbledore. "In the meantime, prepare yourselves. We do not know what we will face, so best to be ready for anything.

But Professor!" Harry pleaded.

However, before Harry could continue to argue, Dumbledore had dissaparated leaving behind six very concerned and uneasy adults, and two fuming young men.

- - - - - - - - - -

Moments later, Dumbledore rapped sharply on the large door of the imposing Malfoy Manor, and within moments was greeted by a small house-elf. "Hello," greeted Dumbledore kindly, "is your master at home?"

"Yes sir," squeaked the elf, who was not accustomed to being spoken to in such a kind or gentle manner.

"Excellent," said Dumbledore as he stepped passed the elf and into the entryway "would you be good enough to tell him that Albus Dumbledore is here and would like to speak with him?"

"Yes sir," bowed the house-elf before departing to find Draco.

While he waited, Dumbledore browsed around the entryway and decided upon the best method of speaking to his former student. He was perfectly aware that the young Malfoy's pride would overpower his better judgment if Dumbledore pushed him too far or in the wrong way. Dumbledore could only hope that Draco's feelings for Hermione would trump even the infamous Malfoy pride.

The distant sound of approaching footsteps announced Draco's entrance before Dumbledore could see him. Dumbledore stood tall and smiled at the young man. Draco stopped a fair distance from the Headmaster and viewed him with an unrestrained look of annoyance.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are looking very well today." Dumbledore paused, but when it became clear that Draco was not going to reply, he continued. "I apologize for coming unannounced; however I thank you for seeing me."

"What do you want?" Draco skipped the stuffy formalities he had been raised to abide by. He didn't even care if he was rude, he didn't care to see his former headmaster in his house, all he wanted was to know what happened to Hermione, so the sooner they got whatever this was over with, the sooner he could figure out what had happened to her.

Normally, this would have been the point where Dumbledore would take control, invite himself in, offer himself a drink, and then begin. However in this case, he felt his chances of success were higher if he allowed Draco to maintain control of the conversation. "I am here to speak with you about Miss Granger's…Hermione's disappearance. I believe there are some things you need to know."

Draco eyed Dumbledore skeptically, apparently sizing him up to determine if the old man was worth his time. In the end, it was only the mention of Hermione that stopped Draco from kicking Dumbledore out the door. Now Draco was curious, what could Dumbledore possibly know about Hermione's sudden disappearance? Sure the old man had always had a freakish knowledge of what happened within the Hogwarts grounds, but whatever happened to Hermione happened far away from Hogwarts, or at least Draco assumed it had.

"Fine," he nodded curtly after a moment. Without a word, he turned and strode into a room to the side of the entryway; Dumbledore followed, and found that he was being led into a very fine looking study. Draco seated himself on the sofa in the center of the room and motioned to Dumbledore to take one of the armchairs facing opposite the couch.

Dumbledore obliged, correctly guessing that this was as polite as Draco was likely to be towards him, so after a moment of intense silence, he began to speak. "Before we begin, am I correct in the assumption that your discussion with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley this morning, they never gave you an indication as to why Hermione has gone missing?"

"I knew they knew something about it!" Draco burst out before he could stop himself. But with one look at Dumbledore's face, he closed himself off again, regaining the cold expressionless exterior that the world was so familiar with. "What do they know that I don't?" He said in a much calmer, businesslike voice, clearly trying to cover up his outburst.

"I will tell you everything, however before I do; I must request that you stay calm. Time is of the essence and it would be best if we did not waste it with arguments and interruptions."

Draco sat back in the sofa with his arms crossed and a sneer on his lips, looking much like the stubborn schoolboy Dumbledore remembered from Hogwarts. But as stubborn and disobedient as he may appear, Draco conceded to Dumbledore's wishes and did not speak.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco's expression remained completely unchanged throughout Dumbledore's entire explanation. It took a concentrated effort for him to maintain his calm and collected exterior. Only someone who was as close to him as Hermione would have been able to detect a problem. And oh was there ever a problem. As Dumbledore's speech continued and Draco learned about Hermione's activity in the Order of the Phoenix, and how much she had been hiding from him, suddenly he felt as if he didn't know her anymore. The Hermione he knew would have never been able to hide all that from him. The shock of it all made Draco feel as if a volcano had exploded inside him. Anger, fury, panic, worry and betrayal seeped through his system like lava. The worry was the worst because it was the emotion he had the least amount of experience with, nevertheless, the emotion overwhelmed him as his mind became flooded with thoughts for Hermione's safety. After worry, came the rage because he was furious with the vile bastards who had kidnapped Hermione and he swore that he would make them pay if it was the last thing he ever did.

Dumbledore, seeing that Draco's eyes were no longer focused on him, correctly inferred that Draco was too overwhelmed to speak, no mater how calm he seemed on the outside. Dumbledore knew the young man would need time to grapple with the sudden overload of information; however, time was of the essence, so he decided to continue. Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain Draco's attention before he spoke once more.

"I know that this is a lot to deal with all at once, but I must continue, I'm sure you understand why."

Draco gave the briefest of nods; so slight it was hardly more than a twitch of the head. Even so, it was the biggest indication Dumbledore had received throughout the entire conversation that Draco was in fact listening, and possibly even receptive to what he was saying, which gave him hope that the proposition he was about to make would be accepted.

"Of course we have the entire Order working to find Hermione and bring her back safely. But we have no way of knowing where she is without knowing where the Death Eaters are."

Draco had snapped to attention at the mention of the Order looking for Hermione. He clenched his left arm at the mention of the Death Eaters, an action that Dumbledore did not fail to notice.

"That is why I'm here Draco," the Headmaster said, referring to Draco by his first name for the first time he could recall. "I am here to extend an invitation to the Order to you. You can lead us to the Death Eaters, and then we can all fight against them and save Hermione."

Draco sat in silence for several moments, looking at Dumbledore with an expression that was not quite calculating, but it was not entirely trusting either.

"I understand that you have never gotten along with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, however Hermione's life is very likely at stake, we need to act as soon as possible, and we need all the help we can get."

Draco scoffed at the mention of Potter and Weasley. Of course he didn't want to work alongside them, but that had hardly even entered Draco's thoughts until then. He could also hear a hint of impatience in Dumbledore's voice, and he sneered at it. How dare this old man show any impatience with him when it was his fault, his and his stupid Order's fault that Hermione was in danger? Draco's sneer turned into a look of resolved determination, and finally he spoke. "I will do whatever it takes to rescue Hermione. But I will not join your precious Order. Once Hermione is safe, I'm out, so don't expect me to continue fighting your little crusade for you."

Dumbledore contemplated the young Malfoy's words; his decision had been better than the outright rejection Dumbledore had anticipated, so he declared himself satisfied. "Very well," Dumbledore stood and held out his hand for Draco to shake it.

Draco stood stiff and gave Dumbledore's hand a brief and formal shake.

"Now I know this is sudden, but I must insist that you come to the Headquarters with me now so we can get everything settled and organized.

Draco's first inclination was to argue and refuse to follow Dumbledore's request. However at the reminder that Hermione was in very real danger, he bit his tongue and nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak just yet because he knew the second he opened his mouth nothing good would come out of it.

Dumbledore leaned in and spoke in a voice hardly above a whisper, "The Order's Headquarters is under the fidelius charm, so once I tell you the location you must commit it to memory or else you will not be able to enter."

Draco nodded again and could not resist rolling his eyes. After all, he knew what a fidelius charm was, he didn't need it to be explained to him.

"The location is Number 12 Grimmauld Place."

Draco repeated 'Number 12 Grimmauld Place' to himself several times until he was sure he would remember it.

"Do you have it set?"

Draco scowled at the old wizard 'It's not like it's difficult to remember,' he spat to himself.

"Very well," Dumbledore went on, unperturbed by Draco's less than friendly attitude. "I will apparate us to the correct spot and then I will give you a tour of the Headquarters. Dumbledore grabbed Draco's arm, both men closed their eyes, and with a pop they vanished from the Manor.

Moments later, they appeared on the sidewalk of a barren street with large houses lining either side. Draco looked around, and before his eyes, a large house seemed to spring from the ground in between two other houses. This new house, bearing the number 12, seemed to shove the other houses to the side until it had created enough room for itself.

Dumbledore strode forward without a word, and Draco followed close behind. Dumbledore opened the door and beckoned Draco inside, "welcome to the Order of the Phoenix Mr. Malfoy."

A quick scan of the room caused Draco to raise a brow, and sneer with distaste. The décor vaguely reminded him of the Manor, though here it lacked wealth and refinement, and to Draco it looked downright ugly. And were those house-elf heads on the wall? Draco's lip curled further, and he chose not to look at the sight. How could this place, which was so dark, belong to wizards fighting against the Dark Lord? Draco just didn't understand it.

But he did not have time for extensive examinations of the surroundings for Dumbledore was already walking through the house providing him with a tour. The house was very empty, so their tour was undisturbed. Draco had only listened to Dumbledore's commentary enough to know which room was which, beyond that he found that he did not care too much.

The final room Dumbledore brought Draco to was the kitchen. As they approached, Draco could hear the murmurs of several voices, they seemed to be arguing about something, and Draco hardly needed to guess what the subject was. They walked in to find most everyone's attention directed towards Kingsley Shacklebolt. Draco's expression darkened at the sight of the man who had delivered him to Azkaban, the stirrings of hatred began to swirl in his chest.

"- great ally."

"I don't care! Bringing him here is only going to slow us down, which will put Hermione in more danger!" Ron bellowed. "And you know he won't cooperate, he'd disobey orders just to spite us!"

Draco sneered at Ron; he was itching to punch the redhead's face in. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that punching him would be proving the weasel right, and that was one of the absolute last things Draco ever wanted to do. So, utilizing his superior self-control skills, Draco remained standing beside Dumbledore with a completely blank expression, not even a hint of a smirk crossed his lips.

By now, Lupin and Moody had noticed Dumbledore's and Draco's presence, but neither said anything about it, they decided to allow Dumbledore to announce their presence.

"I'm sure he wouldn't do that, not with Hermione's safety at stake," Kingsley countered.

"With any luck he won't agree and then we won't need to worry about it," Harry muttered.

At this Draco couldn't help himself, he smirked and let out a brief snicker. The noise, though quiet, was enough to alert the Order to the presence of both Draco and Dumbledore. Lupin, who had been watching Draco, could not help but smile at his reaction towards Harry's words. The other adults viewed him with guarded expressions, though he sensed a strong amount of distrust coming from the three Weasleys present.

"Well," Dumbledore smiled and clapped his hands together as if oblivious to the tension, which filled the room; "I believe everyone knows each other, so I think it's time we begin. We will have to have a strong plan of action in place for once we are certain of Miss Granger's location."

"Doesn't he need to take the oath first?" Mr. Weasley gestured his head towards Draco, but did not once glance at him.

"Mr. Malfoy has agreed to work with us until Miss Granger is safe, after that he will no longer be a part of the Order," answered Dumbledore.

"WHAT!" Harry and Ron roared. Many of the elder Order members looked just as displeased by the news, though they managed to refrain from shouting.

"How can you allow that Professor!" Ron shouted, "he has access to the headquarters who knows what he'll do with that privilege once we find Hermione!"

Draco's eyes flashed at the insinuation that he would do anything, he stepped forward, ready to punch Ron into oblivion, but was restrained by Dumbledore's hand, which gripped his shoulder tight. Draco frowned and glared daggers at Ron and Harry.

"I will not tolerate this behavior any further," Dumbledore reprimanded. "Right now what matters most is Miss Granger's safety. Everyone in this room is dedicated to working towards seeing returned safely to us. So now I suggest that we all put whatever differences we may have aside and start working together right now."

Harry stood up and crossed the room until he was less than three feet away from Draco. "You better not cause any problems Malfoy."

"I'm not the one making a fuss," replied Draco coolly, causing Harry to ball his fists in anger. "Look Potter," Draco spat, "we're talking about Hermione's life here, I believe I've already proven that I would give my life in a heartbeat to save hers, so back off. The sooner we save her, the sooner this will be over, and then we can never see each other for the rest of our lives for all I care."

"If only I were that lucky," muttered Harry. "Fine," Harry thrust his hand forward; Draco never took his eyes from Harry's but he did shake his hand firmly.

"Alright, now to get to work," said Dumbledore.

* * *

**A/N: **I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment, and are looking forward to more. I don't think there will be many more chapters left, possibly as few as 2 depending on how fast the story decides to move (I really have little control over it, I just write wherever the story leads). I love hearing your thoughts in reviews, so please let me know what you think! Thanks :D 


	13. Need to Escape

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me.

**A/N: **Not much to say today, just that I hope you all like this chapter. Enjoy!!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Need to Escape**

The first thing Hermione saw was darkness a complete pitch blackness accompanied by an all-consuming pain that throbbed at every nerve ending in her body. In her head, the pain was so intense that she felt it would burst through her skull at any second. The pain was so great that she could not even cry, the throbbing agony forced her tears to remain unshed; leaving them to drown her spirit within her. In a valiant effort to ignore the pain, Hermione tried to focus on her surroundings. That was when she realized that her eyes were still closed; 'the pain must have woken me up,' she thought. But she could not remember falling to sleep. The last thing she could recall was waking up to find Bellatrix Lestrange standing over her and then torturing her. But after that it was blank. She was quite certain that Bellatrix had tortured her, but she did not think that was what the pain was from, nor did she think it was the reason why she had passed out.

She clenched her teeth and fists, and forced herself to relive the memory of what had happened after Bellatrix. At first all she could remember was pain, she knew that she had been tortured again, but this time the torturer was not quite human, and beyond evil. In a flash, she saw the blood-red snake eyes of Lord Voldemort and in that moment, it all came back to her. Everything that Voldemort had said and done to her up until the instant her head made contact with the wall and knocked her out. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, nor did she have any way to tell for sure.

But that was irrelevant at the moment. What mattered now was that she was conscious, and even more important than that, she was alive. As long as she was alive and conscious, she had a shot of making it through this. However, in order to make it, she would have to be able to see what was going on around her, and that would require opening her eyes. Normally that would have been quite simple, after all, one rarely consciously thinks about opening their eyes once they awaken, it just happens. In her present condition however, the mere thought of opening her eyes increased the pounding in her head. Still, she did it, but the sight that greeted her was not a comforting one. At some point, during the hours she had been unconscious, she had been moved to a new location.

This place was musty with a definite stench of mold and neglect resting in the air. The concrete floor was cool and layered with a thick blanket of dust. It looked like a very large, old basement. There were small stacks of boxes piled off to the side, and a pretty old couch against one wall. Other than that, the room was pretty much empty. There were no windows on any of the walls, so Hermione guessed that she was underground. Hermione could just make out the shape of footprints in the dust in front of her. From the looks of it, whoever brought her here had apparated with her, left her on the ground, and then walked away leading Hermione to suspect that they could still be somewhere in the house.

As she was scanning her surroundings, Hermione realized that there was no shimmering silver mist surrounding her as there had been before. As a matter of fact, there appeared to be nothing stopping her from getting up and walking away whenever she pleased. She tried to calm the instant leap of hope she felt in her chest because the logical part of her knew that it was too good to be true. Still, she had to try, it was worth whatever may happen to attempt an escape. Never mind the fact that she did not have her wand, or the fact that she had no clue where she was or how to get home. She refused to sit around an be Voldemort's prisoner any longer.

So, she took in a deep breath; the pounding in her head was diminished by her relentless determination. Thoughts of reuniting with her friends and being held tight in Draco's arms fueled her drive. She stood, ignoring the stiffness screaming in her joints; she allowed nothing to stop her or force her back down. 'So far so good' she thought once she was on her feet. Cautiously she took a step forward, her entire body shook with pain but other than that, nothing prevented her from moving forward. She took another step, and still felt nothing stopping her.

Hermione's heart began to race with excitement. Wild thoughts that Voldemort had left her for dead, and therefore hadn't bothered to secure her flew through her mind. Never before had she thought that the idea of someone wishing her to be dead would be a good thing, but at this point she was praying for it. She took two more steps and was ready to dash ahead and cry out with joy when she was suddenly held back. It was as if an invisible chain was wrapped around her middle, allowing her to move only so far before yanking her back and reminding her that she was still a prisoner.

"No!" she cried in desperation, she attempted to run to either side, but the spell held her back. Hermione dropped t the floor with a defeated sob, she had been so close; she had believed she was free. But now, to find that she was still a prisoner was heartbreaking. It left her feeling nothing but despair and helplessness.

The sound of a door creaking open caused Hermione to wipe her eye and compose herself. She was not about to allow Voldemort or his Death Eaters to see her in such a vulnerable state. She stood in tall defiance as she listened to the soft thud of footsteps descending a stairway and then walking towards her.

"Thought you could escape mudblood?" Bellatrix Lestrange taunted the moment she laid eyes on Hermione.

Hermione set her face with the blankest expression she could manage. She could not think of an appropriate retort, so instead she opted for a cold silence.

Bellatrix however, was not to be so easily put off. She began to stalk back and forth across the room, just beyond the point where Hermione could go. This enraged Hermione far more than Bellatrix's verbal taunts, and Bellatrix knew it. The Death Eater grinned maliciously and chuckled at Hermione bound by invisible chains. Hermione was itching to lunge forward and wring Bellatrix's neck, but instead she had to settle for glaring at the woman with her fists clenched.

"I suppose you are wondering why I am not torturing you right now," Bellatrix goaded.

Hermione paused in her thoughts, she had been so consumed by her rage that she hadn't even stopped to wonder Bellatrix was there, let alone wonder why the Death Eater wasn't torturing her. Now however, she realized just how out of character it was for Bellatrix to be taunting instead of torturing. She really did not want to know what the vile woman's reason for coming was because Hermione knew that whatever the reason she was not being tortured now, it would mean something much worse for later on.As if to confirm Hermione's thoughts, Bellatrix spoke up once more. "the reason is because the Dark Lord is eager to be finished with this mission, and he wants to be sure you see the results of his handiwork on your cursed friend Potter. Bellatrix paused for effect, "I on the other hand, cannot wait until I can punish my traitorous nephew. So much talent and power, wasted, because of you!" Without warning, Bellatrix smacked Hermione across the face.

Hermione was taken by surprise by the sudden stinging sensation on the right side of her face. But that wasn't what startled Hermione the most, what really caused her heart to race was the thought of what Draco's devil of an aunt would possibly do to him. Or what she would do to Hermione in front of Draco.

"I can just imagine the look on your face when you are forced to watch him being tortured to death-"

Hermione forgot about the magic binding her as she charged forward towards Bellatrix, but just before she was within reach, the invisible chain magic forced her to stop. She was wrenched backwards so hard that she fell to the floor with a loud thud and a pained grunt.

"- priceless, I'm sure," finished Bellatrix. "And it will all be because of you." With that Bellatrix stalked away; leaving Hermione alone on the floor grasping her ankle, which was now sending shooting pains up her leg.

Again she felt the desire to cry, this time however, she did not allow herself to give in. This time she forced herself to stay strong and brave. 'Come on Hermione,' she began a mental pep-talk, 'you were not a Gryffindor so that you could cry when things got tough. And you were certainly not the smartest student in your year so that you could give up! You can save yourself…just _think!_'

Hermione took a deep breath and began to do what she did best, analyze. "Okay," she said aloud, "I'm somewhere, in a basement, with some sort of invisible chain spell keeping me here. So first things first, how to get this spell off me."

Hermione had never really practiced wandless magic before, at least not extensively, and even with the minor spells she had tried, her wand had always been nearby. Hopefully she had enough power within her to break the spell on her own, because that was the only way she'd even have a chance of escaping. So, she slid over to the wall and began to mentally recite every anti-jinx and counter curse she had ever heard. All the while hoping that one might be able to remove the spell keeping her captive.

- - - - - - - - - -

The tension in number 12 Grimmauld Place in the days following Hermione's disappearance was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Draco never spoke to Harry or Ron, and they returned the favor, nevertheless, you could feel the enmity between them whenever they were in a room together. It seemed like without Hermione's actual presence, the boys returned to their past hatred of one another. It did not help that they blames each other for what happened to her.

Draco was certain that Hermione would have never been in danger had she not been in the Order and so friendly with Harry and Ron. They, on the other hand, believed that it was somehow Draco's fault that she had been discovered and captured. The other members of the Order all felt the tension as well, however since the young men had thus far been silent and behaving themselves, no one intervened. Clearly, some rivalries never die.

Draco's patience had been on its last resolves for over a day. So now, as he sat in the meeting room listening to Dumbledore, Moody, and Lupin rehashing the same plans they had made days ago, he could feel that last thread of his patience fray. He was so sick of this mindless planning. They could be torturing Hermione ever second that they wasted sitting around making useless plans. Draco had had enough sitting around, he was furious with himself for agreeing to Dumbledore's offer. Draco was certain that is he was on his own, he would have at least been able to find her by now, if not save her as well.

But no, instead of being out there doing something useful for Hermione, he was stuck in this hellhole with a house full of people, n one of whom even wanted him there in the first place. Perhaps that was part of the reason why he stayed, just because he knew how much his mere presence pissed off everyone other than Dumbledore. Of course the main reason for staying was because he wanted to save Hermione, and he didn't want anyone to think he was giving up, or a coward for leaving. So he stayed, but that did not mean that he had to enjoy it. With a heavy sign, he tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Weasley's mother's objections to Dumbledore's plans.

"I still think that Harry and Ron should stay here at first," Mrs. Weasley said. "That way if it is a trap and Hermione is not there, they will still be safe."

Draco let out an un-amused snort, which drew disapproving looks from several Order members, including Mrs. Weasley. Draco hadn't failed to notice that she had not raised any objections to Draco being the first to go. Draco didn't bother to point this fact out because he already knew what she would say; that he had to be the first because he was the one who would know where the Dark Lord was. But Draco knew the real truth, he knew that Weasley's mother did not care if he was safe or not. Hell, Draco would even be willing to bet that she would not be sorry to see him all but dead at the end of all this.

Harry and Ron began to wildly protest Mrs. Weasley's objections. Honestly, Draco didn't know why they had bothered, everyone knew they were going to do whatever they wanted anyway. They always had, and they'd always gotten away with it. So why were they wasting everyone's time by putting up this big show?

Mr. Weasley sided with his wife right away while Moody, Lupin and Tonks tried to reason with both sides. Dumbledore was the only one who remained silent and who watched as Draco wordlessly get up and leave the room. Unlike the rest of the Order, who felt that Draco was just making things difficult and uncomfortable for the rest of them, Dumbledore was impressed by how cooperative Draco had been since he'd arrived. Sure, it was clear to everyone that Draco was not pleased with the situation, but for the most part, after the first day, he had remained silent. Dumbledore rose and slipped out of the room as well, he was curious to see where Draco had gone.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco couldn't handle this place anymore; he had to get out of the house and away from those people, even if it was just for a little while. It wasn't like they could save Hermione without him. After all, every plan the Order came up with began with Draco's mark burning and him telling them where the Dark Lord was, so they wouldn't miss him for a few minutes. At least that was what he told himself as he walked through the hallway and out the front door.

The cool air hit him like a munch needed slap in the face the moment he opened the dor. Instantly he felt better. The cool air brought relief; relief from the suffocation he felt inside that dreaded headquarters. He could not believe that Hermione had actually lived there with those two idiots, how could she stand it?

Draco started walking down the road; he had no idea where it led to, or where he was, but it didn't matter as long as he was moving in the fresh air. But he couldn't relax, something didn't feel right, he felt like he was being watched again. How anyone could have found him here in the middle of nowhere with all that protection around that bloody house was beyond him. As he glanced to either side, he slipped his hands into his pockets and wrapped his fingers around his wand.

He heard something behind him and he whipped around, drawing his and as he did so. But it was on ly Dumbledore, the old man looked amused as Draco lowered his wand and returned it to his pocket. Draco did not say a word or make any movement to return to Grimmauld Place. For several moments, the two men stood just looking at each other, Dumbledore with a small smile on his face, and Draco with a cold frown. Finally, Dumbledore spoke, "be sure to return before it gets too dark Draco."

Draco's expression did not change, but internally he did a double take. Had the old man just referred to him by his first name? That was a first, part of Draco felt he should refuse to allow the professor to call him by his first name, however deep down he understood that Dumbledore had meant it as a sign of respect. He referred to everyone else in the Order by their first names, so why not refer to Draco that way as well. Draco realized that he had not yet acknowledged Dumbledore's words, so he gave a curt, but definite nod before turning on his heel and resuming his alk down the road. He was actually a tad grateful that Dumbledore had followed him and in his own way, given Draco permission to leave. Not that he felt he needed permission of course, but still, it took away every ounce of guilt that may have somehow found its ay into Draco's mind. He felt free, and he liked it.

- - - - - - - - - -

Dumbledore retuned to the meeting room just as the argument was winding down. No agreement had been reached, but everyone was tired of arguing about the same issues over and over again.

"I'm just thinking about your safety," insisted Mrs. Weasley.

"And we're just thinking about Hermione," stated Ron.

"Well, Hermione would want you boys to stay safe as well," was Mrs. Weasley's final word on the matter.

Harry and Ron shook their heads at Mrs. Weasley, but allowed the issue to drop. That was when Harry glanced around the table and noticed that Draco was conspicuously absent, "Hey, where did Malfoy go?"

"The other Order members, with the exception of Dumbledore, looked around at each other shrugging. None of them had even noticed Draco was missing until then.

"I can't believe the bloody git just left in the middle of our meeting!" exclaimed Ron. "And we're supposed to rely on him?!"

Harry and Ron both pushed away from the table, and made their way towards the door. Lupin and Tonks stood to follow the boys out as well.

"Where are you going?" asked Dumbledore.

The four stopped in their tracks, and Lupin spoke for all of them. "We need to find him don't we?"

"We should have just locked him in one of the spare rooms and taken away his wand," muttered Harry, "that way he wouldn't be able to go anywhere.

"Do you really feel that would have been the best action?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well, it would have shown him that he's not in charge here, and that he can't just walk out of an Order meeting whenever he wants. Plus, what if Voldemort summons the Death Eaters? Malfoy will probably just go there himself without telling us. Then he'll get killed and we'll never be able to save Hermione!"

"I have to disagree with you Harry. And I believe this is the perfect time to discuss this matter because I am very disappointed with how it has been handled up until now."

"What matter is that?" asked Tonks.

"I will get to that in a moment Nymphadora," replied Dumbledore. He then stood in silence until everyone had returned to their seats.

"Now, to address your first concern Harry, I am confident that if Voldemort contacts his Death Eaters, Draco will let us know immediately."

"But Professor-"

Dumbledore raised his hand to silence Harry. "If Draco had any intention of trying to rescue Hermione on his own, then he would not have accepted my invitation into the Order."

"That may be so Dumbledore, but it doesn't change the fact that he has no respect for the rules of the Order, as he demonstrated by leaving just now," reasoned Mrs. Weasley.

"On the contrary, I believe he respects the rules as much as he can, and considering how he's been treated by the individuals in this room, I am impressed with how he has handled himself thus far."

Harry and Ron gaped at Dumbledore as if he had just grown a second head, they appeared to be too stunned to speak.

"Everyone in here seems to feel that Draco should be on his hands and knees serving the Order. But surely you can all understand what a sacrifice it was to his pride for him to come here. And you certainly cannot expect him to behave any differently than he is behaving, when not one of you shows any respect for him.

"He acts like he's the only person who cares about Hermione!" argued Ron, "but we all care for her too, and we've cared for her a lot longer than he has!"

"Did you ever stop to think that perhaps he acts that wasy because she is the only person that he has ever deeply cared for?"

A look of taken aback surprise crossed the faces of several Order members.

"And you should also consider the fact that every one of you is surrounded by people who care for you and who love you. Draco has never had that, the only support and love Draco has ever known has been with Hermione. I would like for all of you to keep that in mind when Draco returns, and treat him with a little more respect. I'm sure it would make Hermione very happy."

Silence followed Dumbledore's speech, no one looked at each other. Instead they all reflected on Dumbledore's words and their behavior over the past few days. They sat that way until they heard the front door open and close. Everyone stared at the door, expecting to see Draco, but instead it was Kingsley who walked inside.

A sigh, which suspiciously sounded like one of relief, passed through the entire room. The odd greeting caused Kingsley to stop and raise a brow, "it seems as though I have missed something," he remarked.

"We were just having a discussion about Draco," explained Dumbledore. "We thought you might be him; though I do not expect him to be back for quite some time."

"I see. Where is he? I hope there's no problem," Kingsley shot a quick glance at Harry and Ron.

"I believe any problems there were will have resolved themselves by the time Draco returns. As for where he's gone, I do not know, however I believe some fresh air will do him good."

Kingsley nodded, "yes, it will be god for him to get away for a few hours."

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco walked down the street for so long that he lost track of time and distance. He could not see number 12 Grimmauld Place behind him, nor did he see much ahead of him. He felt completely lost, not so much geographically as emotionally, within his life. Part of him wanted to turn around and shut himself in Hermione's room just so that he could feel closer to her. But another part of him wanted to stay as far away from Grimmauld Place as possible for as long as possible. But he had to go somewhere, hopefully where he wouldn't feel so isolated, which immediately removed the Manor from his options. Thinking as hard as he could about where to go, he dissaparated with a pop.

A moment later, Draco reappeared on a small front path outside of a modest-sized house. Luckily none of the neighbors happened to be looking out their windows, otherwise there would be several startled muggles watching the oddly dressed you man who had just appeared out of thin air. Draco rang the doorbell and then stood staring at the front door of the Granger household. It didn't matter to him that his only visit here hadn't gone over too well with Hermione's father; all he wanted was to feel closer to Hermione. What better place to feel close to her than her own horse with her parents.

Draco was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of the door being unlocked. Draco sucked in a breath as the door opened to reveal Mrs. Granger.

"Draco!" she exclaimed.

"Mrs. Granger," Draco stuttered, he cleared his throat, "I'm sorry for coming over unannounced, I just…" but Draco couldn't express why he had come, or what he was feeling.

But Mrs. Granger did not need words to understand. She gazed at him with teary eyes, which were full of love before she pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't be silly," she assured, "you are always welcome here."

It took Draco a moment to respond, but soon he found himself hugging her back. Draco let go first and frowned when he saw Mrs. Granger wipe away a few stray tears. "Is there any news about Hermione?" she asked.

The hope in the woman's voice killed Draco. He couldn't even look her in the eye as he shook his head, "we're doing all we can, and we're ready to act the second we learn anything." He paused and finally managed to look Mrs. Granger in the eye, "we will save her Mrs. Granger, I promise I will bring her home."

"She is blessed to have such brave and caring friends," said Mrs. Granger.

Draco smiled a half-smile, "she would do the same for any one of us, we're all lucky to have her in our lives."

Mrs. Granger smiled. "Well," she broke the silence after a moment, "please come in, I'll make you some tea."

"That's very kind, but you don't have to, I don't even know why I came here."

"Nonsense, you look like you need it."

Draco didn't argue further as he was led to a seat at the table and watched Mrs. Granger bustle around the kitchen. In minutes she had a piping hot teapot along with 2 mugs filled to the brim with steaming tea sitting in front of them on the table.

Draco breathed in the calming herbal scent before taking a sip. He glanced up to find Mrs. Granger gazing at him with an expression that could only be described as motherly affection. It wasn't an expression he was accustomed to, but it still made him feel better. It was an expression of love and comfort, and Draco liked it.

"Anytime Hermione was stressed or upset, I would always make her tea," commented Mrs. Granger.

"It helps," agreed Draco as he took another sip. They sat for several moments in silence before Draco confessed a fear which had been plaguing him for days. "I feel like this is my fault, like I could have done something different that would have kept Hermione safe."

Mrs. Granger shook her head," no one could have seen this coming, you've always been there for Hermione, and you're doing all you can now."

Draco nodded, but the doubt was plain on his face.

"She wanted to tell you about the Order you know."

Draco's head shot up.

"After you two had a fight she was distraught, she was angry with Harry and Ron and with the rest of the Order as well for making her keep it from you."

"I never knew, muttered Draco.

It seemed like Mrs. Granger was going to say something more, but she stopped herself when she heard the door open. "Hi honey," she called, "we're in the kitchen!"

"We? Do you have company?" Mr. Granger stepped into the kitchen doorway and was genuinely surprised to see his daughter's boyfriend sitting at the kitchen table with his wife. "Is this about Hermione?" Mrs. Granger asked urgently.

"No sir" Draco shook his head, "I just…I miss her, and I didn't know where else to go."

Mr. Granger's face softened and he nodded at Draco, "Well, I'm glad you came here."

Draco stared at Mr. Granger with a surprised expression, as if he did not believe his ears. "Thank you," he said after a moment.

"You're a good kid Draco, I'm happy Hermione found you."

Draco was shocked, the last time he'd seen Mr. Granger the man had clearly not approved of Draco dating Hermione, so his behavior now was nothing short of bizarre.

Draco spent the rest of the evening with the Grangers; he even enjoyed dinner with them. No one spoke much, but the atmosphere remained comfortable. It was not the stuffy silence Draco had grown up with; it was amiable. Draco actually felt at ease and at home with these muggles, a feat he never would have thought possible before.

After dinner, as Mrs. Granger was rinsing the dishes, she said to Draco, "you're welcome to stay the night if you like.

Draco almost said yes, he wanted to, but instead he shook his head. "Thank you, another time I would love to, but before I left I promised Dumbledore that I would come back to the headquarters."

"Alright, just know, it's an open invitation."

"Thank you, I will take you up on it another time."

Come back soon Draco, it was good to see you again."

"I will, and next time, I'll bring Hermione."

Mrs. Granger smiled; her eyes were shining with the beginnings of tears. She strode forward, enveloped Draco in a tight hug, and gave Draco a kiss on the cheek."

"We will see you again soon I hope," said Mr. Granger.

"I'll make sure of it," Draco held out his hand to Mr. Granger. Mr. Granger took it and pulled Draco forward, giving him a hug as well. Draco, whose father had never been much of a hugging kind of guy, didn't know what to do. He gave Mr. Granger an awkward hug back, but it ended quickly.

"Goodbye, and thank you. I think I really needed this."

"Goodbye," said the two Grangers.

Draco closed his eyes and dissaparated from the Granger's kitchen. When he apparated in his destination, he kept his eyes closed for a minute as if to cement his evening with Hermione's parents permanently in his mind. When he opened his eyes, he saw a dark and desolate road ahead of him. He had purposely apparated a fair distance away from number 12 Grimmauld Place to give himself some alone time before facing the Order again. If he was lucky, Dumbledore will have smoothed things over so that he wouldn't have to talk to anyone just yet.

As he walked, he gripped the box containing Hermione's ring tight in his hand. It had been in the back of his mind the entire time he was at Hermione's parent's house; they had made him feel so welcome and so at home. Originally, he had thought this ring would symbolize that she was his forever. But now he felt that her wearing it would mean something even more, it would also mean that he was hers. And to his surprise, he really liked that idea, he wanted to be a part of her family.

Before he knew it, Draco was standing before the front door to number 12 Grimmauld Place. It was with a heavy sigh that he pushed the door open and strode inside. His face was cold and impassive, no sign of the emotions within was allowed to show through for the Order to see; his pride was too great for that. Draco followed the dull sound of voices to the kitchen where he found some of the Order, including Harry and Ron congregating over what looked like desert. The talking stopped the moment he opened the kitchen door.

After an elongated pause, Mrs. Weasley spoke up, "Draco, would you care for some dinner?"

"I'm fine," Draco responded coolly.

"Come now, you really must eat something," Mrs. Weasley insisted.

Draco could feel his usual sneer forming on his face in response to Mrs. Weasley's mothering. How dare she talk to him like that when she didn't care one bit about him. "I already had dinner, I'm fine."

"Oh? Where did you go?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

Draco scanned the room to find that everyone was sending him accusing glares. He knew what they were thinking; they had all been warned to avoid public places in order to avoid risk of another kidnapping or attack. Clearly they all assumed that Draco had gone back on his word and gone out. Draco rolled his eyes, "if you must know, I was with Hermione's parents."

The shocked looks, which followed his pronouncement, were enough to cheer Draco up, so with a smug grin he excused himself and retreated to the upper level where his room was located. Along the way, he couldn't help but stop in Hermione's room. He did not go in completely; rather he just stood in the doorward looking.

"She'll be alright Draco, we will save her," Kingsley's low voice broke the silence.

"I know," Draco answered without looking away from Hermione's room, "but that doesn't erase the fear, or the pain from missing her."

It was the most honest and vulnerable thing Draco had said since he'd arrived, and it gave Kingsley a greater feeling of respect for the young man. "No it doesn't," was all he said in response to Draco's words.

Draco remained standing for another few minutes after Kingsley left before he forced himself to go to bed. But before he left, he whispered in a voice so quiet that he himself could hardly hear, "goodnight Hermione, I love you."

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed chapter 13! Chapter 14 is almost completely finished, but it will not be the last chapter as I thought it would be, but we're getting close. Reviews are greatly appreciated:) 


	14. Rescue

**Disclaimer: **As always, J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, I am not J.K. Rowling, therefore all I own is the plot.

**A/N:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I was thrilled that so many of you liked what happened. This fic doesn't seem to want to end, so there will be a few more chapters after this one. Anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter as well.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Rescue**

Draco lay awake for hours unable to find sleep. He was still dressed in his clothes, so that just in case something happened he was ready. But just like every other night since he'd been at Grimmauld Place, all was quiet and still. He wasn't tossing and turning, he was just staring at the ceiling or out the window wondering where Hermione was and praying that she was alright. As he gazed absently out the window, Aries landed on the windowsill carrying a large dead rat in his beak; the fruits of his latest hunting trip. Draco watched as the owl tore at his meal and when Aries was finished, Draco joined him at the window.

That was when it hit him, a sudden, scorching pain on his left forearm accompanied by the intense urge to apparate to an old, rundown manor. Somehow Draco knew that it was called the Riddle House. Draco was certain that he knew the name of the house only because the Dark Lord was intending for him to come to Hermione's rescue. Well, Draco was never one to disappoint…

Even before the burning faded, Draco was across the room with his shoes on. The first thing he did was to send his patronus to alert Dumbledore. The lioness, which he presumed was a symbol of Hermione, charged off in a silver blur. Next Draco threw open his door and shouted, "they're in the Riddle House!"

But Grimmauld Place was silent. With a grunt of frustration, Draco ran to Harry's room. He burst through the door so hard that it just about fell off the hinges "Potter!"

Harry was startled out of a sound sleep, "Wha.. What's going on?" he thrashed around in his tangled bed sheets and looked wildly around the room.

"Hermione's at the Riddle House get your ass out of bed and let's go!" Draco swept out of Harry's room in time to hear a loud pop from the floor below. Trusting that Potter could manage to alert the others, Draco ran downstairs to meet Dumbledore.

Dumbledore wasted no time, "you are sure?'

"Yes, the destination was perfectly clear, he knows I'll come for her."

"Then you better leave now, we can't allow him to suspect you're working with us."

'That will be easy,' thought Draco. He nodded to Dumbledore and then dissaparated on the spot.

When he reappeared, he found himself in a dust-covered living room that appeared to be perfectly empty. But Draco was not to be fooled so easily, he had a tight grip on his wand and his senses were piqued. He could hear nothing other than the wind outside blowing through a broken window, and the usual creaks and groans of an old house. That, to him was a dead giveaway that this was a trap, but it also meant that he could not predict what was going to happen or how many Death Eaters were present.

Draco scanned the dark room with narrowed eyes, and he noticed two things that seemed out of place. The first was an area on the floor, which was noticeably less dusty that the rest, as if something had been sitting there and was recently moved. The other was the lone sheet of parchment lying on the floor next to the area that was free of dust.

Draco stood, alone and alert for what felt like a lifetime to him, but may have been only a few seconds in reality. Draco's eyes fell repeatedly on the piece of parchment lying on the ground. His better judgment knew that he should not touch it, yet he felt drawn to it. He had an inexplicable feeling that Voldemort was waiting for him to read it.

Draco weighed the possibilities in his mind, whatever that paper was, could not be good. Draco suspected it was a portkey, which would ruin the entire plan because he would be alone and the Order would have no way of finding him. But on the other hand, the Dark Lord was not a patient wizard; so the longer he stood waiting, the greater the likelihood was that Hermione would be tortured. Draco just didn't know what to do, or what would be best for Hermione.

In the end, Draco decided to levitate the parchment towards him. That way if it was a portkey, he would be safe, but if it was a message, he'd be able to read it. He aimed his wand at the parchment and with a casual swish and flick the parchment was levitated to him. The side that had been facing up was blank, so Draco used his wand to turn it around in midair.

The handwriting he saw nearly made him drop his wand. In a thoughtless impulse he seized the parchment, which was covered in Hermione's tiny scrawl. Draco's heart raced as he glimpsed the telltale tear splotches dotting the parchment and blurring her otherwise neat handwriting. The moment he began to read, Draco's heart plummeted. This was not a portkey, it was more akin to a suicide note, written and signed by Hermione.

_To the ones I love,_

_This was never how I planned to say goodbye, and it is most certainly not when. However, if this is what I must do in order to protect you all, then I do it willingly; for I will not allow anyone to risk their life for me. It wouldn't be able to live through that twice in one lifetime. But before I go, I need to say goodbye, to let you all know how much I love you, and to say all the things that I never said. First to my parents; Mom, Dad you have always been the greatest parents a child could ask for. Your love and support mean the world to me, and you two are always with me in my heart. Guiding me to do the right thing, helping me when I need it, and loving me just because. I love you, and know that I am always with you two._

_Harry and Ron; you guys are my best friends. You were the first true friends that I ever had, and you guys made our years at Hogwarts the best of my life. You were always there for me, I wouldn't have survived Hogwarts without you. I know that you will both go on to even greater things than we have already achieved. You two are the greatest friends anyone could ask for, and I know that I am blessed to have been a part of your lives. I don't know if I ever told either of you, but you both mean the world to me, and I would do anything to keep you safe._

After that, there were messages to others, mostly to other Order members, Ginny, and a couple family members. But Draco just skimmed through those, he was looking for his name, his heart ached to know what she wanted to say to him as he last words. And they were the last words, the ones at the very bottom of the page were meant for him. It was at this point where the greatest number of tears seemed to have fallen as well. Draco gulped as he started to read, it was a difficult task since his hands were shaking so much he could hardly see the words.

_Draco, forgive me for keeping you until last, but I just can't bring myself to say goodbye to you. You are my world, my one true love. Just thinking about you brings a smile to my face, and makes my heart beat faster. There is so much I want to say, but words just can't express. There is nothing I want more right now than to be held in your arms and to hear you say that everything is going to be alright. There is something that I want to tell you. It slipped once in an argument with Harry and Ron, but I never had the courage to tell you about it, and now I wish I had. I'm sure that by now you know about the Order, I wanted to tell you about it so badly, Kinsley even taught me occlumency they were so worried I tell you. And one time when Harry Ron, and I were arguing, they said I could only tell my family about the Order, and I told them that you might as well be a part of my family. I didn't even know I was thinking it at the time, but it is true. To me, you are a part of my family; I want to spend the rest of my life with you and for that reason I refuse to allow my life to end now. I was going to kill myself to save everyone I love, but I've become selfish, and I blame you for that. I cannot bring myself to end my own life because of you, because I need to see your face again._

_All my love forever,_

_Hermione_

Draco's throat was dry and clenched so tight that he could hardly breathe, and his mind was reeling. According to her note, she hadn't killed herself, but then where was she? What had the Dark Lord done to her?

"Quite a sickening letter if you ask me," came a sharp voice from behind Draco, one he was quite familiar with…unfortunately.

"Aunt Bella," muttered Draco through gritted teeth. "Where is she?" Draco whipped around and aimed his wand directly at Bellatrix's heart.

"Well that's a fine way to greet your aunt."

"I will gladly hex your head off if you do not tell me where she is!" growled Draco. Sparks erupted from the tip of his wand from the anger flowing through him.

"She is in a private meeting with the Dark Lord, I believe he was quite bored with waiting for you to show up and read that piece of drivel. And he will be most disappointed that you did not bring Potter along, why I believe that will make him angry enough to kill.

Whether it showed on his face, or Bella was just invading his thoughts, Draco couldn't say; but her next words told him that she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Yes, she's alive…for now. You see, the Dark Lord is a merciful wizard; she wrote that she wanted to see your face one more time. So he decided to grant her final wish. Of course, she failed to specify whether you were alive or not, so the Dark Lord has decided that you shall die instead."

Draco sneered, "well unfortunately for him, I'm not so merciful, so I refuse to grant his request."

Bellatrix shrugged, "then you will both die, it really makes no difference to me, or him."

"Nice to know you care for your only nephew," smirked Draco. He was about to hex Bellatrix when a blood-curdling scream rang out from somewhere below him, "Hermione!" he cried.

But in his moment of unguarded panic, Bellatrix saw her chance, "crucio!"

Draco fell to the ground with a cry of pain. No matter how many times one experienced the blinding pain of the cruciatus curse, you never get used to it. Draco's head smacked against the floor when he fell to the ground, but luckily it wasn't enough to knock him out, it just gave him a very bad headache.

And then, just as Bellatrix was about to curse Draco again, several pops announced the entrance of the Order members. Draco did not hesitate for a second before pushing himself up, running towards the hallway and shouting, "she's downstairs! He's torturing her!"

Harry and Ron didn't need telling twice; they bolted after Draco, leaving Lupin and Kingsley to deal with Bellatrix.

"Master! More of them have come!" Bella shrieked before firing curses at the Order members. Instantly, at least six Death Eaters apparated to Bellatrix's aid, leaving Lupin and Kingsley outnumbered and surrounded. Dumbledore arrived and started to aid the adults while the boys kept going. Draco had found the door to the basement and practically leapt down the entire flight of stairs.

He stood up with his wand out only to see Lord Voldemort himself aiming his wand directly at Hermione, who was backed against the wall. She was cut and bruised, and just looked terrible. Her eyes shined with both hope and panic when she spotted Draco.

"Draco!" she cried, but then gagged in silence. Voldemort was silently choking her.

Let her go you filthy piece of shit!" roared Draco as he directed his wand at Voldemort, "crucio!"

Every ounce of Draco's rage and hatred was focused into that curse. He wanted to see Lord Voldemort writhing on the floor in pain. Voldemort went rigid for a moment when the curse hit him, which was enough to break his spell on Hermione, who sunk to the floor passed out from the lack of oxygen. However, the next moment, with a roar of fury, Voldemort threw Draco's curse off of him.

"That was very stupid Draco," Voldemort hissed. He then swished his wand, causing Draco to be thrown back into a pile of boxes and smacked his head on the floor again.

Draco shook his head, but all he could see was stars threatening to make him unconscious. He groaned and blinked in an effort to resolve his vision. He refused to lose this battle; he would not lose Hermione.

"Well now," Draco heard Voldemort hiss, "Harry Potter, I knew you would come."

"Let Hermione go. I'm the one you're looking to fight, just let her go," Harry spoke in an eerily calm voice.

"She is free to go, there is nothing holding her back, if she's still alive of course."

"You bastard!" this time it was Ron who yelled. He ran at Voldemort, brandishing his wand as he did. But before he could cast a spell, Voldemort whipped his wand around in a circle, causing Ron to fall backwards and slam head first into the wall behind him.

"Ron!" cried Harry as he saw his best friend slump to the ground.

By now, Draco had regained his vision, so he crept behind some of the boxes, careful not to make a sound as he moved closer to where Hermione lay. Potter and Voldemort were staring at each other in a deadlock. Both had their wands ready, and both were wordlessly challenging the other to make the first move. Draco took the opportunity to try to see if Hermione was alright, but all he could see was her body lifeless on the ground with her hair blocking her face.

He had to get to her, to make sure that she was still breathing, but if he moved from behind the boxes, Voldemort would spot him in an instant and probably kill him just as quick. He needed a distraction or something.

As if to answer his thoughts, the door at the top of the stairs burst open and someone literally came tumbling down.

"You fools!" yelled Voldemort as he saw one of his Death Eaters fall down the stairs.

Draco took the opportunity while Voldemort's attention was focused elsewhere and dashed across the room to behind the couch beside where Hermione lay. On the other side of the couch, an all out war had broken out, the Order of the Phoenix vs. Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters; spells were flying everywhere.

The wall behind Draco was cracked from being hit with so many spells, and Hermione was still at risk. Draco pulled her behind the couch so that she was no longer out in the open. In the back of his mind he heard was going on around him and was aware that he should probably be aiding the fight. But first he had to make sure that Hermione was going to be alright.

He pulled Hermione into his lap, he could see her chest rising and falling with small, struggled breaths. He bent over so that his mouth was next to her ear and stroked her hair as he held her tight. "Hermione…Hermione…"

But she did not respond.

"Hermione come on, I know you can hear me, show me you can hear me."

For one agonizingly long moment, Draco wasn't certain that she would respond. But then, just as he was losing hope, her breathing changed and she took a deeper breath. It was only a tiny change, and if he hadn't been paying such close attention, he would have missed it entirely. But he had caught it, and it gave him hope.

"Good Hermione!" he urged in a whisper, "keep breathing, you're doing great! You're going to be fine." By now Draco was shaking from an overload of emotions, he couldn't even begin to describe how he felt. He continued to hold Hermione and stroke her face in a delicate effort to revive her.

"Draco?"

"Hermione, I'm here," Draco whispered.

"I'm sorry," Hermione whispered as tears trailed down her cheeks from her closed eyelids.

"Shhh," comforted Draco as he kissed her forehead and wiped the tears from her face, "there's nothing to apologize for, I'm here and you're going to be alright."

But Hermione's breathing was becoming shallow again, Draco could almost feel her slipping away as he held her in his arms. "Draco-"

Draco could hear pain in her voice, "Hermione… Hermione come on." Draco shook her gently, but her breathing continued to weaken. "Stay with me Hermione, You can do it. You are the strongest person I know, and you're going to be fine." By now Draco was talking just as much to comfort himself as he was to Hermione. But it was no use; she had passed out again and was taking only the faintest of breaths.

Draco would have remained behind the couch working to reviver Hermione had he not been jarred back to the reality of the present situation by a terrible scream of pain. From the sound of it, the Dark Lord was crucioing Potter. Draco heard several Order members shout attack spells, and then Potter's cries stopped.

Draco immediately sprang into action; he cast the strongest protection spell he could think of on Hermione and then leapt out from behind the couch with his wand aimed at Voldemort's back. He saw Potter and the Dark Lord in another stare down and knew what he had to do; he briefly locked eyes with Harry, and nodded his head. All at once, three curses were shouted, and one wizard fell. From Voldemort came the killing curse while Potter shouted sectumsempra. But since their wands were brothers, neither of those curses would have reached their intended targets had it not been for the fact that Draco had hit Voldemort with a simple, yet effective, disarming curse.

The entire room, or at least everyone who was still standing, seemed to be frozen in shock. The once terrifying and powerful Dark Lord, a wizard who was the very incarnation of hate was lying before them, gasping for breath on the floor with crimson blood oozing out onto his robes, forming a puddle of blood on the floor. Dumbledore bound the remaining Death Eaters with a swish of his wand, but every eye was focused on Lord Voldemort.

Harry was the first to move, he took a step forward and glared at Voldemort with a repulsed scowl. "You deserve to suffer," he said in a dangerous tone, "but it's too disgusting to watch you live for one more second." With those words, Harry aimed his wand at Voldemort one last time, "Avada Kedavra."

A rush of relief seemed to pass through the entire world as Lord Voldemort's red eyes dimmed with death. And that was it, there was no big explosion or monumental scene, Voldemort had simply died, his worst fear had come true. No one other than those in the Riddle House basement knew what happened, but now the world truly was a safer place.

From the floor behind Harry, Ron let out a long groan, which drew the attention of everyone except Draco. Draco scoffed at the way they all rushed to the Weasel's side while Hermione was hovering on the brink of death. Had they all forgotten why they were there in the first place?

Draco swept behind the couch and pulled Hermione into his arms, he held her tight, but could not tell if she was breathing. Her skin was cold to the touch, but the basement was cold as well, so Draco tried not to let it worry him. He lowered Hermione to the couch, but did not remove his hand from the back of her head. With his free hand he stroked Hermione's cheek, willing her to wake up. "Hermione it's all over, you're safe now, Potter killed him, so you can wake up now," he urged, knowing that it would do her little good.

Draco could hear movement behind him and he could feel the others watching, but he paid them no mind; all he cared about was Hermione. Harry and Ron both knelt beside Draco, their faces pained with concern for their friend.

"Is she breathing at all?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"Just barely, she passed out again just before you killed the Dark Lord," answered Draco without taking his eyes off of Hermione.

"We have to get her to St. Mungo's" said Tonks with a definite sense of urgency in her tone.

"But we can't apparate her there, I don't think she can take it!" cried Ron.

"I'll contact them and get an emergency team here," volunteered Lupin, with a nod of approval from Dumbledore, he dissaparated.

"Let me see her," Dumbledore said in a calm voice.

Harry and Ron got up right away, but Draco was reluctant to move. It was only when Kingsley placed a firm hand on Draco's shoulder and pulled him away that he stood up and gave Dumbledore room. He watched with an intense gaze as Dumbledore raised his wand over Hermione, which caused a faint yellow light to surround her body for a moment.

"She is alive," confirmed Dumbledore, causing everyone to exhale in relief. "But she is very weak."

"She will be alright though won't she?" Ron voiced the question, which was on everyone's mind.

"I am certain that the Healer's will be able to help, so we shall see," was Dumbledore's answer.

Before anyone had time to reflect on these words, Lupin returned with an emergency healer. If the gruesome looking dead body on the floor, or by the Death Eaters, who were all bound and unconscious in the corner at all surprised the healer, he didn't show it. Instead, he sprang right into action, "where is she?"

"Right here," answered both Harry and Ron right away.

The healer dropped his bag beside Hermione and set to work. First, he poked and prodded various points on Hermione's body, but received no reaction. "She's got a sprained ankle," noted the healer as he retrieved his wand from his pocket. He then muttered a spell and ran his wand completely down Hermione's body. "She also has a pretty serious concussion as well as internal bleeding around the lungs, which is why she's not breathing well.

"Is she going to be okay?" asked Harry, who like the others, had gone white upon hearing the news.

"Can't say at this point, I can heal the ankle and the concussion here, but I have to bring her in for the other injuries, I don't have the potions necessary to help with the bleeding.

"Well then let's go!" cried Ron who was clearly irritated by the healers calm demeanor.

"We can't apparate her, so we already have transportation coming, relax, we're doing the best we can." With that, the healer set to work fixing whatever he could. He also cast a pretty strong sedative charm to ease the pain and keep Hermione's body as calm as possible. By the time the healer was finished, the transportation, a white truck with a bed in the back similar to a muggle ambulance arrived at the house.

"We have only enough room for her in the back, the rest of you will have to apparate, she'll be on the fourth floor, room 412."

Almost before the group knew what was happening the team of healers had taken Hermione away and vanished with their truck. It was only then that everyone was able to take a moment and digest what had happened that night. For quite a while everyone just stood in the basement looking around at each other as if they did not know what to do. Except for Draco, he was staring without seeing, his mind was miles away with Hermione wondering what the healers were doing to her and if she would be alright.

"What do we do now?" Again it was Ron who broke the silence.

This caused everyone, including Draco, to turn their attention to Dumbledore for instructions.

"Well," said Dumbledore, "first we will contact the Ministry. We will need to speak to the head of magical law enforcement about them," Dumbledore gestured to the Death Eaters. "We also need to inform the minister about Voldemort's death. Kingsley, would you mind informing the department of magical law enforcement of what happened while I contact the minister?"

"Of course not," answered Kingsley before he dissaparated.

"I will return in a moment," said Dumbledore before he too dissaparated.

- - - - - - - - - -

Not twenty minutes later, the Riddle House was buzzing with activity. A team of magical law enforcement wizards was dealing with the Death Eaters while the minister was parading around the scene with a group of photographers and quite a few reporters as well.

Draco watched what was happening around him as if he was in a different world. Where he was able to observe what was going on, but was incapable of participating in it. He had unconsciously backed away from all the flashing cameras and from the reporters grilling everyone with questions about what had happened and what they had done. So far no one seemed to notice Draco, and he preferred it that way. So, trusting that he wouldn't be missed, he moved to a dark corner and dissaparated to St. Mungo's.

Once he'd apparated in the lobby, Draco bypassed the line in front of the receptionist's desk and made his way directly to the lifts. He knew that he probably was not allowed to go into Hermione's room, but he didn't care. He was going to go wherever he liked until someone told him otherwise. When the lift left him on the appropriate floor, Draco strode down the hall with his old confident swagger. He'd always found that the more confident you appeared, the less people would question you about what you were doing. So when he'd finally found room 412, he walked in as if he owned the place, and therefore, had every right to enter.

Luckily, there were no healers in her room at the moment, so there was no one to kick him out. Still, the moment the door closed behind him, he froze. The room felt so stark and lonely, even with the large window, which revealed a peaceful world outside, and the various potion bottles sitting on the table beside the bed were not comforting. And Hermione… she looked so pale and weak lying there barely breathing. Cautiously, as if he was afraid that the slightest noise would harm her, Draco crossed the distance to Hermione's bedside.

"Hermione?" Draco spoke in a whisper so quiet that he wasn't sure he had spoken at all. "It's me, Draco," Draco decided to continue talking just to fill the silence, plus the thought that she might hear him helped to calm him. "I don't know if the healers told you, but you're in St. Mungo's, so you're safe now, and they're taking good care of you. They're giving you potions to heal you and take away the pain, so before you know it you'll be good as new." Draco looked around the room as he thought of something more to say. "You have a great view, when you wake up you'll have to take a look," Draco knew he was just babbling but he needed something to cover the silence. "Potter and Weasley sat hi, I'm sure they'll be here soon. They got held up by a bunch of reporters asking them about what happened," Draco didn't know what had made him bring up Potter and Weasley, only that he thought that knowing they were alright would make Hermione happy.

Just then, the door opened and a mediwitch followed by a floating scroll of parchment and a quill stepped in. She froze in her tracks when she caught sight of Draco, causing the quill and parchment to crash into her head. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I came to see Hermione," answered Draco.

"Well, there are no guests allowed right now, you'll have to wait in the waiting room down the hall," she pointed him out the door.

"Come on, I'm not hurting anything or disturbing her. Just let me sit in the corner or something. I promise I won't move or say a word, I just need to be here, Hermione shouldn't be alone."

The mediwitch's stern frown softened ever so slightly at Draco's plea, but she was no stranger to friends and family begging to stay in the rooms of her patients when they weren't allowed. "Look, I'm sorry, but it's best for the patient that she is not disturbed at the moment. Just wait in the waiting room and someone will come and inform you when you are allowed to come in, or if anything significant happens."

Perhaps the mediwitch was able to sense that Draco was about to argue, or maybe she was just accustomed to this conversation; either way, she began speaking again before Draco could argue further. "Look, either you go to the waiting room right now, or I will have security escort her from the premises, then you won't be able to see her at all."

Draco stood gaping indignantly at the mediwitch, but he took her threat seriously and with one more look at Hermione, he escorted himself out of the room. When he reached the door, the mediwitch spoke again.

"What is your name?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Well Draco, I promise we will inform you the moment her condition changes."

"Improves," Draco stubbornly corrected.

The mediwitch smiled gently, "we will let you know at once. If you need to speak with me again, just ask for me at reception, my name is Jill." With that, Jill shut the door leaving Draco standing in the hall with a sour frown on his face. Knowing it would be useless to remain standing there, Draco trudged down the hall to the waiting room, and dropped into the chair nearest to the entrance.

Once seated, he tried to occupy his mind; it shouldn't have been difficult. After all, he had just helped to kill the Dark Lord; he should have been both relieved and ecstatic. But all his mind could focus on was Hermione's pale, nearly lifeless body lying alone in that hospital room. He couldn't stand the waiting, not knowing what was going to happen. Every time he heard footsteps approaching, his heart would speed up and he would stare at the doorway, but no one came. Draco tried to tell himself that no news was good news, but that expression had never sat well with him, and it certainly wasn't helping now.

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**A/N: **Well there you have it, I hope you liked this chapter. Originally it was about twice as long, so I decided to break it up into 2 chapters, so the next chapter should be coming along relatively soon. Anyway, thanks for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts! 


	15. Waiting

**DISCLAIMER:**As I'm sure you are all aware, I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own Harry Potter. I do however thank J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world for me and all other fanfic writers to borrow and play with for a while.

**A/N: **I'm so sorry for the delay with this chapter, I actually thought I submitted it a couple weeks ago, so I've been working on the next chapter until last night when I realize I never posted this one. (oops!) As always, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, your coments always make me smile. And now, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Chapter 15: Waiting**

About 20 minutes after Draco was shunted to the waiting room, Harry, Ron, Arthur, Molly, Tonks and Lupin paraded into the waiting room to find Draco sitting in a chair looking so much like a zombie it was frightening. Not one of them seemed the least surprised to find him there, however they did seem a little concerned by his zombie-like state. Draco looked up at all of them, but he didn't smile or speak, he just watched them with a blank face as they walked by. They all sat in the same general area, but no one was daring enough to sit next to Draco.

"How is she?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Draco shrugged, "they won't let me see her." A casual listener might have thought that Draco was indifferent to the situation based on his tone, but those who listened closely would have heard a note of dejection in his voice, no one around him failed to notice it.

"Dumbledore went to get Hermione's parents," said Tonks in a calm voice, "maybe the healers will be more willing to tell them what's going on."

Draco tried to smile at the thought, but it turned out to be more of a grimace, so he quickly gave up.

Sure enough, moments later Dumbledore walked in with Mr. and Mrs. Granger close behind, each pale with worry. Mrs. Weasley was the first to leap to her feet and envelope Mrs. Granger in a tight hug; being a mother herself, she could imagine the pain and worry Hermione's parents were feeling. "The healers are taking good care of her. Hermione is a very strong girl she will be fine."

Mrs. Granger nodded, but that did not stop her tears from falling down her cheeks. She wiped them away and put on a brave smile, "thank you Molly, and everyone, you all mean so much to Hermione." Her eyes met with Draco's and for the first time that night, Draco felt as if someone understood and felt his pain.

Just as Draco was about to stand so that both Grangers could sit, Jill stepped in and began talking while looking down at a piece of parchment, "Draco, Hermione is, oh!" Jill stopped short once she looked up and saw the crowd of people anxiously watching her, including Draco who had sprung out of his seat at the sound of his name.

"Are all of you here for Hermione?" Jill asked.

"Yes they are, how is she?" Draco answered for them; by his tone it was clear how irritated he was.

"Wonderful, well then, she is doing well, her breathing has improved, and we are monitoring it very closely for any changes."

"Is she awake? Can we see her?" again it was Draco who spoke for everyone.

"No, she has not woken up yet. And I'm sorry, but until her condition is stable, only family can come in," Jill looked at Draco directly as she spoke, for she had a feeling that his reaction would be worse than the others.

And in a way she was right; because while Harry and Ron started protesting in loud voices, Draco's eyes flashed dangerously and his jaw tightened. Jill, who had felt bad about kicking him out before, was now positively frightened of Draco. She had dealt with ranting and raving guests like the other two boys plenty of times, but Draco's silent glare of pure hate sent shivers down her spine; all she wanted was to get away from him as fast as she possibly could.

Lucky for Jill, Mr. Granger immediately spoke up, "we are her parents."

"Excellent," Jill smiled, more with relief than anything else, "follow me then." Jill and the two Grangers down the hall to Hermione's room.

Draco slammed himself back in his seat and glared at the floor. The others decided to ignore him and give him time to cool down. Since no one really felt like talking, ignoring Draco wasn't a difficult thing to do. The silence lingered for over half an hour until Hermione's parents returned. Everyone snapped to attention, eager to hear the latest update. It was clear by her red eyes that Mrs. Granger had been crying, and Mr. Granger didn't appear much better, nevertheless, both put on smiles for the group.

"Well, she's breathing," confirmed Mrs. Granger, "and they've managed to clear the majority of the blood from her lungs. But she's not responding to anything, and the healers aren't sure how long it will take her to wake up. They say for some it takes days, even weeks."

"But she will wake up," said Mrs. Weasley in an encouraging tone.

"The healers say they will be able to tell us more when she begins responding. For now, all we can do is wait."

"Will they let us see her any time soon?" asked Harry.

"They want her breathing to get stronger, but they said that once it has reached a certain level, they'll let friends in one or two at a time," said Mr. Granger. "For now they suggested that we all go home to rest and they'll contact us when her breathing strengthens."

"What!" cried Harry and Ron.

"We're not going anywhere until Hermione wakes up!" asserted Ron.

"Dear you heard them, it could take days," soothed Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, and since there is nothing we can do here now, I believe it is best we return to headquarters, we have much to discuss," said Dumbledore.

"Like what? It's over!" cried Ron.

"Like how to locate and capture the remaining Death Eaters, there are many still at large, and if we don't begin now, they will continue to roam free. We also should discuss how to deal the wizarding community's reactions to Voldemort's death."

Having no argument to this, Ron hung his head and muttered, "fine." He and Harry reluctantly stood along with the other Order members; Draco however remained resolutely seated.

"Hello, Earth to Malfoy, we're leaving," said Harry as he rolled his eyes at the stubborn Slytherin.

"I'm not going anywhere," stated Draco while continuing to stare at the floor.

"This meeting is for everyone, not everyone except Malfoy," said Ron.

"See Weasley, that is where you're wrong." Draco smirked as he stood to face Harry and Ron. "I agreed to work with you and obey your stupid Order rules until Hermione was safe. Thankfully, now she is, and therefore I no longer have to do what you, Dumbledore or anyone else says. I'm staying," he said in a tone, which left no room for argument.

Harry and Ron glared incredulously at Draco before turning to Dumbledore as if looking for backup.

"Draco is correct," Dumbledore smiled, "as he is not an actual member of the Order, he has no business at this meeting. I had however hoped, "Dumbledore now turned his attention to Draco, "that you would reconsider my offer to join the Order Draco."

Draco slowly turned his attention from Harry and Ron to Dumbledore and stated quite simply, "no, I did what I said I would do, and that's it. I'm done."

Dumbledore nodded, he did not seem surprised at all, "very well then, we will see you when we return."

Draco just looked at the old wizard, clearly showing that he had no care to see any of them again. He remained standing until everyone except the Grangers were gone. Only then did he sit down and allow his 'I don't give a damn about anything' façade slip to reveal the pain and worry he was truly feeling. It was something that everyone had been able to sense before, but now seeing the emotions so plainly written on his face was heart wrenching to Mrs. Granger.

She pulled Draco into a tight hug to which he didn't know how to respond until it was over. "Oh Draco," said a teary-eyed Mrs. Granger, "we'll get them to let you see her, I know Hermione would like that."

"I saw her when I first got here, I was with her when Jill came in and kicked me out," muttered Draco.

"Well, we'll make sure you get to see her again then."

"She was awake when I found her," Draco sent an almost timid gaze to Mrs. Granger as he spoke.

Both of the Grangers eyes went wide as they anxiously waited for Draco to continue.

"I tried to protect her, but I couldn't stop the Dark Lord from hurting her. He magically choked her, and after that she passed out. I'm sorry. I couldn't…I didn't get there fast enough."

"No," Mrs. Granger shook her head and Draco was surprised to find that she looked rather angry with him. "No Draco you will not talk like that. Hermione is here, she is safe, and she will be fine. And right now she needs all of us to be strong for her."

It was one of the few times in his life that Draco had ever felt ashamed, it took him a a moment to gather the courage to look Mrs. Granger in the eye, "you're right." Draco took a deep breath to clear his head.

"Dear, why don't you go home and get some rest, you look exhausted."

Draco turned away and resumed staring at the floor. "No, I can't even think about sleep until she wakes up."

This time Mrs. Granger did not argue with him or scold him; instead she brushed his hair back off his forehead the way a mother would fuss over her son.

Draco glanced up and gave Mrs. Granger a half-grin. He had been thinking about showing Hermione's parents the letter that Hermione had written, but in the end had decided against it. He couldn't bring himself to show them their daughter's moment of desperation, when she had nearly lost hope.

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco remained sitting silent and awake for the entire night. Mr. and Mrs. Granger stayed at St. Mungo's as well, though after several hours, they had fallen asleep in their chairs. Draco had no concept of how long he had been sitting there until Potter and Weasley walked in along with Mrs. Weasley.

"How's she doing?" asked Harry.

Draco shrugged, "the same"

"Can we see her yet?"

Draco frowned and glared at the floor, "no."

Harry and Ron sighed and took a seat beside Mrs. Weasley across from Draco.

"Where are Hermione's parents?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"The cafeteria, getting breakfast," Draco stated. His voice was oddly monotone and it was disconcerting to Harry and Ron who were accustomed to Draco's usual drawl.

"Dear aren't you hungry too?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Draco may have been exhausted, but that did not diminish his inner reaction towards hearing the weasel's mother refer to him as 'dear.' "No," he spat.

"You don't have to stay here all the time, it's okay to get something to eat, or sleep. You look like you've been here all night," continued Mrs. Weasley.

"Yeah Malfoy, you look like hell," added Ron, earning a reprimanding glance from his mother.

Harry however added in a thoughtful tone, "he looks the same way Hermione looked in 6th year, when he was the one lying in a hospital bed unconscious."

Draco didn't speak, but it was clear Harry's statement had an effect on him. His throat tightened, his glare weakened and a sad frown formed on his lips.

From that point on no one spoke much, the Grangers returned from breakfast and sat with everyone. Mrs. Granger brought back a croissant for Draco; he thanked her for it, but did not eat it. The very thought of food made his stomach churn. A few minutes after the Granger's returned, a healer came into the waiting room and informed them that Hermione's condition appeared stable enough to allow visitors. The news of course excited everyone, though the healer did add that Hermione remained unconscious, so there was little they'd be able to do other than sit and look at her.

First, the healer led Mr. and Mrs. Granger in to see their daughter. Back in the waiting room, Draco, Harry and Ron were all sending each other looks as if they were silently arguing over who would get to see Hermione first. In Draco's mind there was no question that he would be first, he was merely challenging Potter and Weasley to suggest otherwise.

But despite their legendary Gryffindor bravery, neither dared to rise to Draco's silent challenge. So when Mr. and Mrs. Granger returned, Draco stood up right away while Harry and Ron remained seated. Draco couldn't help smirking as he walked through the halls over his mini victory over Potter and the weasel.

But his smirk vanished the moment he found himself outside Hermione's door. With a deep breath, he turned the knob and let himself in. Hermione looked pretty much the same as she had the last time he'd seen her. In fact, the only difference in the room was the two chairs positioned beside her bed where her parents had presumably been sitting.

Draco seated himself in one of the chairs and took Hermione's hand in both of his. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Hey Hermione," he spoke in a quiet tone, which he hoped sounded happier than he felt.

"The healers say you're doing much better now, so I know you'll be awake soon. I'm sorry I didn't get to stay longer last time, they kicked me out and I've been in the waiting room ever since.

Draco sat in silence for a moment before his emotions finally got the better of him. "Come on Hermione! Snap out of it, you're fine, I know you are!" He gripped her hand tight and stood so that he was hovering over her. He was glaring at her, not with anger, but with desperation. He needed her to wake up, he could not even think about anything else.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, you weren't supposed to get hurt! I was supposed to come save you and bring you home, and then after that I was going to give you this ring and ask you to marry me!" We were going to be happy together for the rest of our lives!" Draco took the ring out of his pocket and put it in Hermione's hand, then he closed her fingers around it so she was holding it tight.

"Don't give up on this Hermione! I read all that stuff you wrote about wanting to kill yourself, but then you couldn't because you wanted us to spend our lives together. Well, I want that too! But I can't ask you to marry me and I can't give you this ring until you wake up. Please wake up so we can be together, I need you."

By the end of his tirade, Draco's exhaustion bean to take its toll on him. He sat back down, removed the ring from Hermione's hand and placed his own hand in its place. Again, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Only this time he could have sworn that he felt her squeeze his hand back. It was very small, and only for a second, but it caused his heart to nearly pound out of his chest.

"Hermione," his voice shook with nervous anticipation, "can you hear me?"

Nothing happened.

"Can you feel this?" Draco kissed her hand again, "show me you can feel me."

This time Draco was sure he felt her hand lightly squeeze his. He stared at her face with a relieved smile, "we will be together, I promise you that." Draco stood and gave Hermione a tender kiss on the lips, which seemed to cause Hermione to take a deeper breath. Draco's smile broadened as he continued to gaze at her. Deep down he knew that she was going to wake up soon, and everything would be perfect.

However, not a moment later, the peace in the room was disturbed by a rather stern looking witch who opened the door and stomped in; to Draco, this mediwitch had a strong resemblance to a pit bull. "Your time is up," she barked, "the patient needs her rest."

"I'm not disturbing her, all I'm doing is sitting here."

"She has other visitors and she needs to be alone to recover properly."

Draco sneered and remained in his seat.

"Young man, get out now, " the mediwitch growled as she wrenched Draco's arm from Hermione's hand and pulled him towards the door.

The moment that his hand left Hermione's, a dark orange light formed around Hermione's chest and a steadily increasing beeping noise sounded throughout the room.

"What's going on?" demanded Draco.

"Get out now!" ordered the mediwitch.

But before Draco could even open his mouth t argue, a healer and three mediwitches, including Jill, came rushing into the room and forced Draco out. Before he knew it, he was standing in the hallway beside the pit bull-like mediwitch.

"Now are you happy?" she hissed "she's going into a stress-induced fit because of you!"

"She was fine before you showed up!" Draco roared. Drawing frightened and curious glances from the surrounding people. His yelling carried down the hall al the way to the waiting room, causing Harry, Ron, Mrs. Weasley and the Grangers to pile out to see what was going on.

"What happened?" demanded Harry.

But neither Draco nor the pit bull mediwitch were listening, "I have half a mind to have you escorted off the premises!" threatened the mediwitch.

"There's not enough room in that in that thick skull of yours for half a thought let alone half a mind!" sneered Draco.

The rest of the group frowned at Draco wondering what he could have done to cause such a stir. "Leave it to Malfoy to cause a scene," muttered Ron.

"In a hospital no less," added Harry under his breath.

But Draco was not done ranting, "you've got no reason to kick me out anyway, all I did was sit there! You're the one who should be kicked out, she was fine before you showed up!"

The pit bull mediwitch looked livid, but at that point, Hermione's door opened, and Jill came out looking very calm. "I'll handle this Claire," she said to the pit bull mediwitch.

"Hmph," Claire scowled as she stomped away.

"Is she okay?" Draco asked, his rage quickly transforming into concern.

"She's calmed down enough, but if you don't mind, I'd like a word with you."

"I swear she was fine until that bi-"

"I'm not accusing you Draco," Jill interrupted, "I just want to ask you a couple questions,"

"Fine."

Jill began to lead Draco away when Harry forced them to stop. "Can we still see Hermione?"

"You will be able to visit her when I get back, we won't be long."

"Well then, can we go with you?" Harry was curious to know what Jill wanted to ask Malfoy.

"I don't think that is necessary, just return to the waiting room, and I'll come by when we're done."

With that, Jill led Draco to an empty office and motioned for him to take a seat. She seated herself on the opposite side of the desk and started right in on the conversation. "Draco, before Claire came in, what were you doing?"

Draco's throat went dry at the thought of answering that question. Unconsciously he swallowed and licked his lips and put his hand over the ring box in his pocket. He looked anywhere except at Jill and kept his face cold and stern. He couldn't tell her what he had actually done. Something told him that kissing Hermione while she was unconscious wouldn't exactly go over well, but at the time he couldn't help himself. Plus there was no way in hell he was going to tell Jill about the ring, he hadn't even really shown Hermione the ring yet, at least not when she would have been able to see it. So there was no way he was about to show it to a relative stranger. "I was sitting there, holding her hand, and talking to her. That's it."

Jill nodded, though she did not even pretend to fully believe him, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well, did you notice anything? Any changes or causes for concern?"

Draco kept silent a moment, then upon deciding that there was no harm in telling her what he'd felt, "She squeezed my hand."

This immediately caught Jill's attention, "are you certain."

Draco nodded, "The first time I thought I might have imagined it, but the second time I'm sure of it. But what does that have to do with this, she was fine at that point."

"It supports my theory actually, I believe that Hermione's stress attack was caused by you."

Draco leapt out of his chair, "but I swear-"

"No, no, you misunderstand." Jill interrupted in a soothing voice, urging Draco to return to his seat. "I believe that the attack was her response to you being taken away. I believe that at some level, she can hear and even understand what is happening around her. This stress attack may actually be a good sign."

"Really?" Draco's face brightened.

Jill nodded, "of course we can't be sure until we do some tests."

"What kind of tests?"

"We are going to let everyone visit Hermione again, and this time I will be present to monitor the slightest changes in her breathing and stress levels. This will determine if the stress attack was a genuine reaction, or an indication of another problem."

"It's not another problem," asserted Draco.

Jill smiled and stood, "after this test, we can all be sure of that then."

Draco stood as well and then followed Jill all the way back to the waiting room where they were greeted by many anxious faces, including Mr. Weasley and Ginny, who had apparently arrived while Draco was meeting with Jill.

"Alright," Jill clapped her hands, "we are going to allow everyone to visit Hermione again. However, I will remain in the room to monitor any changes in her. We are trying to determine the cause of what happened earlier. "So you two are first," she gestured to Harry and Ron, who sprung out of their chairs and followed Jill out of the room.

Draco what happened?" asked Mrs. Granger.

Draco scanned the faces, which were all staring at him before answering. Were he alone with the Grangers, he would have been willing to go into more detail regarding exactly what happened. However, since there were others around, he went for a more general explanation. "They're not exactly sure. Hermione was fine until some stupid mediwitch came and kicked me out. Then all of a sudden she went into a panic attack or something. Now Jill wants to see if it was just a coincidence, or if Hermione was reacting to what happened."

Mrs. Granger nodded and smiled, but Draco could tell she was close to tears.

"She's going to wake up really soon, I can feel it," Draco felt an odd need to reassure the woman.

- - - - - - - - - -

Nearly an hour later, everyone except Draco had been in to visit Hermione, but so far there had been no change in her state. Now it was Draco's turn to visit again, but it was clear that Mrs. Granger wasn't ready to leave her daughter, so Draco consented to join her and Mr. Granger rather than wait until they left.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger slid over in order to allow Draco to sit by Hermione. Just as before, Draco took Hermione's hand and began speaking softly to her. "Hey Hermione, I'm back. You really gave me a scare before, you know. I know you were trying to wake up before you were ready, but you shouldn't rush. No matter how long it takes, I'll be here with you."

Following his speech, Draco felt Hermione's grip tighten slightly. At the same time he heard Jill gasp. Draco's head shot up, "you noticed that didn't you?"

"Noticed what?" demanded Mr. Granger.

"Yes I did," nodded Jill with an awed smile on her face.

"She squeezed my hand," Draco said in response to Mr. Granger's question.

"Mrs. Granger gasped and clutched her husband's arm tight.

"Does that mean she's waking up?" asked Mr. Granger.

"It could," said Jill, "it's certainly a good sign"

"Thank goodness!" cried Mrs. Granger.

Draco and the Granger's were allowed to stay with Hermione for another half hour, but nothing more happened. When it started to get late, and everyone else had gone home, Mrs. Granger invited Draco to stay at their house for the night, but he graciously declined. He told them that he was going to go home for the night, but in reality he planned on staying at St. Mungo's again. Now that he was certain that she could at least feel his presence, he was going to sneak into Hermione's room again and see what happened once they were alone again.

He bid goodbye to the Grangers and then made himself scarce by going down to the cafeteria and finally getting a bite to eat. He waited in a side hallway until he saw a mediwitch leave Hermione's room; that way he knew that no one would be coming in for quite some time, so he could be with Hermione undisturbed. He slipped into Hermione's room as nonchalantly as possible and immediately seated himself by her bed. He then took his hand in hers and began to talk.

"Hey Hermione, I'm back again, I know I'm not supposed to be, but I didn't want you to have to be alone all night. Plus, I also thought that maybe being here with you might help you wake up faster.

"I really miss you. I know I get to see you here now, but I miss _you_. I miss talking to you, and holding you, and looking into your beautiful eyes, hearing you laugh…" Draco was forced to stop because he was getting himself worked up, he could feel his throat constricting with the pent up emotions. He knew that he needed to at least sound happy and calm so that Hermione did not get worked up.

Draco didn't know how long he sat there, talking about random nothings just to fill the silence and give Hermione something to listen to; but when he jerked awake from dozing off in his chair, he knew that he had to go. Clearly, Hermione was not waking up today, and Draco wanted to be awake and refreshed when she did.

So it was with a heavy sigh that he stood up, kissed Hermione's forehead, whispered "I love you," in her ear, and then stepped out of her room on his way to the lobby so he could apparate home.

Draco was too tired to notice that Jill had spotted him slipping out of Hermione's room. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the handsome young man who was clearly head over heels for the poor girl. Concerned that Hermione might be suffering from another panic attack, Jill entered her room to check on her. But unlike before, when Draco had been forced away, this time Hermione continued to rest soundly. Jill smiled at her patient as she made some notes about Hermione's stats. But then, as she was leaving the room, something very unexpected happened…

"Draco?"

* * *

**A/N: **I hope everyone liked this chapter, I know it was kind of a filler chapter, but I feel it was needed. Depending on how long I decide to make the next chapter, it could be the last. I know I have said that before, but this time I mean it, there are only one or two more chapter left of this story, and of this series, so I hope you enoy them!

P.S. I love reviews, then make me happy ;o)


	16. Dream's Reality

**Disclaimer:** I'm sure everyone knows this already, but just in case you missed the past 15 disclaimers for this story, I am not J.K. Rowling and I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **Well, here it is...chapter 16. I want to thank everyone for the marvelous reviews for last chapter, I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter as much as the last.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 16: Dream's Reality**

Jill froze with her hand on the doorknob. For a moment she stood in silence waiting to see if Hermione would speak again.

Sure enough, after a long pause, Hermione's quiet whisper uttered "Draco?" again. But this time it was weaker, as if it was taking all of her energy just to whisper his name.

Jill ran to the bedside, "Hermione?" But when she got no further response, Jill began rushing around checking Hermione's breathing levels yet again. Hermione did not seem at all distressed, though her heart rate had sped up a significant amount. However, as Jill watched, it began to slow once more, so Jill attributed the increase to the immense effort Hermione's body required to speak. Jill waited a few more moments, only venturing to leave when she felt certain that Hermione had gone quiet for the night. Immediately, Jill took off for the lobby, hoping that Draco hadn't left yet, but she was not surprised when she got down there and found no sign of him.

Jill heaved a sigh before trudging back upstairs; she would have to wait until he returned to tell him what had happened. The thought brought a wide smile to Jill's face, had she not heard it for herself, she would not have believed that Hermione had spoken. Jill had checked her stats multiple times, and there had never been any indication that Hermione's body was prepared to take such a monumental step. But that just goes to prove what a powerful healing tool love can bee; far more potent than any potion or spell in the world.

- - - - - - - - - -

Much to his surprise, Draco fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow. He slept soundly all night for the first time since Hermione had gone missing. It had only been about a week ago, but to him it felt like a lifetime. And when the morning came, Draco did not jerk awake in a cold sweat as had seemed to become typical for him, instead he eased out of his sleep into a peaceful wakefulness.

He opened his eyes and thought he must be dreaming, for he found himself in his own room. He could not recall the last time he had slept in his own luxurious bed in the comfort of his own room. It felt good. The events of the previous night slowly came back to him as he stretched and blinked the sleep from his eyes. Thinking of the progress Hermione had made the previous day brought a grin to Draco's face.

Of course, now that he was awake all he wanted was to get back to Hermione. Still, he allowed himself a relaxing shower and a quick breakfast before he apparated to St. Mungo's because he could not recall the last time he had either. Once at St. Mungo's he made to go straight to Hermione's room, however since there was a healer and a few mediwitches inside, Draco went to the waiting room instead.

Draco was surprised and rather annoyed to find that Potter and several Weasley's were already there, waiting with Hermione's parents. Draco nodded to them all in brief acknowledgement before taking a seat.

All was quiet until Jill's familiar voice floated to their ears from the hallway. "I'm telling you, you are absolutely wrong about this."

"You young mediwitches don't take things seriously enough, sometimes there are problems that we can't see and don't identify right away that can be very dangerous. And mutterings like that might be a clue, or a sign that there's something more wrong that we have missed!" another, older sounding, mediwitch insisted.

Jill and the older mediwitch walked by the doorway to the waiting room, but when Jill caught sight of Draco and the others, she stopped and faced them all wearing a rather mischievous grin. "It was more of a word than a muttering. But if you're so concerned why don't you tell her family and friends, they're right here."

Everyone tensed and stared at the two mediwitches, one who was looking sympathetic, and the other who seemed to be having difficulty containing a smile.

"What is it?" demanded Mr. Granger.

"Corrine is concerned because last night Hermione spoke, and in some cases, apparently that indicates that there is a possibility of a mental complication that we were unaware of."

Mrs. Granger gasped and immediately began tearing up; the idea of her brilliant daughter suffering from any sort of mental damage was too much to bear.

"Now Jill, I told you, it's only when they speak meaningless words that there is cause for alarm. Perhaps what she said has something to do with her kidnapping."

At that point Jill could hold it in no longer, she snorted with laughter, drawing confused and annoyed looks from everyone, "I'm positive that it was not meaningless," she glanced at Draco, "and it has nothing to do with being kidnapped."

Corrine threw her hands up with exasperation, "what would you call it then, when a patient randomly says things like draco in the middle of the night!"

Draco, along with everyone else, instantly jumped out of his chair. Now Jill was beaming, as she looked Draco dead in the eye, "I call it love."

Draco didn't hesitate a moment before charging out of the room, nearly bowling over the two mediwitches in the process.

"Young man! You can't see her now! Young man get back here!" cried Corrine.

Jill cleared her throat, "that's her boyfriend, his name is Draco."

"Dra-" Corrine froze and glared at Jill, clearly not amused. "You knew that this whole time and you did not tell me!"

"You never asked," Jill shrugged.

"Well, we should still investigate as to what made her speak last night, because there was no sign she was ready to do so."

"I know the reason," Jill turned to address everyone. "Last night Draco snuck in her room after visiting hours-"

"He heard Hermione speak and he didn't tell us?!" cried Ron indignantly. Most other group, other than Hermione's parents who simply looked shocked, were wearing similar looks of indignation.

"No," Jill continued, "she didn't speak until after he left. I only heard her because I saw him leave and wanted to make sure that she was still alright."

"Oh," Ron muttered, though he still looked rather miffed.

"However, her speaking his name is very significant because it suggests that she's actually aware of people's presence, or at least Draco's, and that could mean that she's closer to waking up than her levels would suggest."

"So how long do you think it will be until she wakes up?" asked Mr. Granger.

"I don't know," shrugged Jill, "at this point I would say it depends on how much time Draco spends with her, since she seems to improve most whenever he's around."

- - - - - - - - - -

Draco didn't slow down until he was in Hermione's room; he went to her as fast as he could while keeping quiet. "Hermione…Hermione," he gripped her hand tight hoping she would wake up.

It happened much sooner than he'd anticipated. "Draco?" Her whisper was so quiet that had he not seen her mouth move, he would have thought he imagined it.

Draco nearly shouted with excitement at hearing her speak his name. Instead he kissed her hand several times, "Good Hermione, I'm here, I'm right here."

Hermione inhaled a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"Shh, I already told you, there's nothing for you to be sorry for," Draco could not believe that after all she had been through, Hermione still felt she had something to apologize for.

"Thank you."

Draco could feel Hermione slipping away again, but he wasn't ready for her to go, he was too happy to hear her voice once more to allow her to fall unconscious again so quickly. "No, no, no, no, no Hermione. Stay with me, I know you can, please Hermione, please stay awake."

"I can't," she gasped, her breathing was steadily becoming more erratic.

"Yes, yes you can," Draco leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "relax, everything's fine."

Hermione took in several deep breaths, which seemed to calm her down. Draco held her hand tight, silently urging her to stay awake.

"Draco?" she whispered again.

"I'm here," he kissed her hand.

Hermione took in another deep breath and with tremendous effort opened her eyes.

Draco nearly cried out with joy at seeing her beautiful eyes, even if her eyelids were half closed. He let go of her hand and held her face instead; he almost thought he was dreaming as he gazed into her eyes. Hermione leaned her head into Draco's hand, simply enjoying his touch.

"What about the others?" she asked.

"They're all fine, and Pott…Harry killed the Dark Lord, so it's all over. He and a bunch of the Weasley's are here with your parents."

Hermione sighed, and Draco could even make out a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Can I see my mum and dad?"

"Of course, I'll go get them, but you have to make sure you stay awake."

Hermione closed her eyes but answered, "okay."

Draco stood and made to leave, but Hermione would not let go of his hand. "Hermione, if you want to see them, then you have to let go."

"I don't want to let you go," Hermione pleaded.

Draco could hear her breathing begin to hike up, a sign that she was stressing herself out again. Draco returned to her side, cupped her cheek in his hand, and kissed her deep. "I'm not going anywhere, I will just be in the other room whenever you want to see me."

"I love you."

"I love you too, more than anything," Draco kissed her once more before leaving.

Draco took his time walking down the hall so as to savor the indescribable happiness and relief that was swelling within his chest. He was oblivious to everything around him. When he arrived at the waiting room he stopped in the doorway, he found everyone was staring at him anxiously. They were all rather surprised to see him back so soon, but even more than that they all wanted to hear from him how Hermione looked.

Draco glanced around the room before focusing his gaze on the Grangers. He then spoke in a mellow tone, "she asked to see you."

Mrs. Granger gasped and clutched at her husband while Mr. Granger immediately began crying tears of joy. Everyone else let out cheers and happy cries. Mr. Granger stood and pulled his wife, who was beside herself with joyfulness, up with him. Together they passed Draco and made their way to their daughter's room.

Draco watched them go with a small smile before turning back to the others.

"So she's really awake now?" Ginny asked.

Draco nodded, "I don't think she'll be able to stay up for long, she nearly drifted off while I was in there, but she is awake, and now she knows that everything, and everyone," he glanced at Harry and Ron, "are alright."

"It's good that she knows that," said Ginny, "I'll bet she was worrying herself to death about everyone, so now she can focus on herself."

"That's what I thought," agreed Draco.

Somehow, it felt both like an eternity and like no time at all before the Grangers returned; both wearing rapturous smiles. "She's doing great, but she's sleeping now, "explained Mr. Granger.

"When she wakes up, she'd like to see Harry and Ron, and I'm sure she'll want to see Ginny too," added Mrs. Granger. There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Draco?"

Draco looked up at Mrs. Granger curiously as she walked toward him.

"Thank you."

If anything, Draco looked even more confused by that statement. He glanced around the room as if looking for an explanation, but it appeared that everyone other than Mr. Granger, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were just as confused as him. "There's nothing to thank-"

Mrs. Granger shook her head, and raised her hand to silence him, "you are the one she could feel, you are what brought her back, like Jill said, love brought her back."

Draco's pale face flushed pink, he wasn't accustomed to conversations such as this, which revolved around feelings and the like, and he seriously doubted whether or not he'd ever be comfortable with them. But hearing Hermione's mother say things like that to him, especially in front of others, just made him all that much more uneasy. He didn't know how to respond, so he just avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. His cheeks were positively crimson when Mrs. Granger leaned in to kiss his forehead, and he found himself even more unable to speak than before. Mrs. Granger did not take offence to his silence though, she seemed to understand how awkward he felt, and merely smiled at him.

- - - - - - - - - -

Over the next several days, Hermione's condition continued to improve by leaps and bounds. The healers still did not want her to move around too much due to their concern that she would over exert herself and damage her lungs, which were still sensitive. She was however able to stay awake for most of the day, and everyone was pleased to know that when she wasn't seeing visitors, she was avidly reading any book she could get her hands on.

One day, Draco arrived at St. Mungo's early with the hope that he would get a decent amount of alone time with Hermione. He was lucky in that no one else was there, and that Hermione was just waking up as he walked in. The smile on her face when their eyes met sent Draco's heart soaring. He hadn't realized just how much he missed seeing her smile until right then. The first thing Draco did was cross the room and give her a long and gentle kiss. It took quite an effort on his part to stop once he felt her kissing back with everything she had.

He backed away only a few centimeters; wanting to remain as close to her as possible. "I missed that," he whispered huskily.

"I'm sure you did," Hermione kidded.

Draco chuckled, "I missed you even more though."

"I remember feeling you here, like somehow I knew when you were with me. I think I dreamt you saying things to me too."

Draco saw a blush overtake Hermione's cheeks, "oh? Like what?"

Hermione's blush deepened, and her gaze left Draco's, "nothing, I don't even remember."

Draco did not believe her for a second, "aww come on, it can't be that bad. Juts tell me." Draco flashed her his irresistible smile for added effect.

Hermione bit her lip, "well, alright." She took in a deep breath, "basically I dreamt that you found something I wrote after I got kidnapped, and in it I said… some stuff, and you told me that you wanted the same thing."

Draco restrained his smile the best he could because he knew exactly what Hermione was referring to, but he did not want her to know just yet., "and what is it that we both supposedly want?"

"To be together forever," Hermione whispered. "I dreamt that you proposed." She turned her head completely away, clearly embarrassed and unsure of what Draco would think.

Draco smiled at her shyness and leaned in to kiss her softly; at the same time he pulled the ring from his pocket. After breaking the kiss, he turned Hermione's chin towards him, forcing her to look at him, and then he took her hand in his. "What I actually said was, that you had to wake up so that I _could_ propose," he slipped the ring onto her finger without breaking eye contact, "and _then_ we could spend the rest of our lives together."

It took Hermione quite some time to register what had just happened. At first she just stared at him in wide-eyed shock, seemingly unable to speak or to even look at the ring.

Her silence did not worry Draco, he realized that his proposal had probably come as quite a shock, so he patiently waited while she processed everything; all the while smiling encouragingly at her.

"Oh my god," was all she could say after regaining the ability to speak. "Oh my god," she said again as she finally broke her gaze with Draco to glance down at the ring. "It's beautiful," she gasped. The platinum band fit her finger perfectly, as if it was made just for her. And the opal stone transfixed her completely. The royal blue and emerald green seemed to swirl within the stone as she shifted her hand to see it in the light.

Draco watched with a look of pure bliss as Hermione marveled at her ring. Her eyes were sparkling even more than the ring, and the look on her face nearly caused his heart to burst. "Hermione," he waited until she was looking straight into his eyes, "will you marry me?"

For the longest time, Hermione silently gazed into his eyes. "I can't believe this is real," she finally whispered, more to herself than to Draco as she turned her attention back to the ring.

"Don't doubt it," Draco whispered back as he brushed a lock of hair away from her face.

Hermione closed her eyes at his touch, a huge smile on her face. "Yes, Draco I can't wait to marry you!" Hermione turned her attention back to Draco, and the moment their eyes met she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a long kiss. By the time she broke it, both of them were gasping for air. "I can't even tell you how happy I am," she said breathlessly.

"You gave me a hint just now," Draco winked, causing Hermione to giggle and her cheeks to flush.

Hermione gazed back at her ring, this time looking as though she was pondering something.

"Knut for your thoughts?" asked Draco.

Hermione waited a moment before responding. "Hermione Malfoy… Mrs. Draco Malfoy, I like it."

Draco chuckled and kissed her hand, "so do I."

"Does anyone know you were going to do this?" Hermione gestured to her ring.

Draco shook his head, "I wanted you to be the first to know."

Hermione grinned with delight, "then I can't wait to tell everyone! Ginny will probably have a heart attack when she sees this ring!" Hermione beamed at Draco, "I can't believe it, we're getting married!" Suddenly, Hermione threw off her covers and shifted her legs off the side of the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"You can't expect me to sit still at a time like this!" Hermione tried to stand, but it had been so long since she'd moved, it was much more difficult than she'd anticipated. Her joints were sore from lack of use, which caused her to stumble as she tried to stand. But Draco was there to catch her, and he supported her in his arms until he felt her grip on him slacken. He too loosened his grip, but refused to let go of her completely. Holding her next to him just felt too right to let go. Hermione gazed up at him and draped her arms around his neck. In turn, he leaned down to kiss her while lifting her completely off the ground.

And that was how Jill caught them when she entered the room to check on Hermione. "Well now, it looks like someone's feeling much better today."

The two broke the kiss and Draco gently set Hermione back down on the ground. Hermione hid her face in Draco's chest while he wrapped his arms tight around her. He looked back at Jill smiling and completely unfazed by the interruption.

"You look very happy today as well," Jill commented to Draco.

"Never been happier," he agreed.

Hermione managed to get over her embarrassment enough to face Jill, "I am feeling much better today." Then, momentarily forgetting about the brand new engagement ring on her finger, she raised her hand to brush her hair off her face.

The action caused Jill to gasp as she spotted the ring, "I can see why!"

As a reflex, Hermione again hid her face against Draco's chest. Draco chuckled, while urging her to stop hiding, "there's nothing to be embarrassed or shy about."

"I should say not," piped in Jill. "You've got quite a fiancé there, Hermione. Not too hard on the eyes either," added with a wink, causing Hermione to giggle like a little girl.

"Believe me I know," she said. "I'm just still in shock," she turned to Draco, "I didn't even realize how much I wanted this until I thought it was too late. So to have it happening now, it's a dream come true. I'm still waiting for myself to wake up."

"This is better than any dream," countered Draco, "because it's real."

"It is real isn't it?"

"Do I need to pinch you to convince you?" Draco asked, half joking. He then lightly tickled her sides.

Hermione squealed with laughter and made to back away, but on her unsteady feet she lost her balance. Again, Draco was there to catch her. "That wasn't pinching," she cried in mock anger, "that was tickling!"

"So? Could you have slept through that?"

Hermione paused to think, "no, I guess not."

"Then you know you're not dreaming."

"Then I truly am the happiest girl in the world right now," she smiled as she pulled Draco's head down for another kiss.

By then Jill realized that the newly engaged couple had forgotten about her, or at least Hermione had. Jill had the feeling that Draco didn't care one way or the other if she witnessed he and his fiancé kissing. She waited a moment before interrupting, "I'm sorry to intrude, but I really do need to check Hermione's levels to be sure that everything's still healing well."

Hermione tore her lips from Draco's the moment she heard Jill's voice and immediately began muttering apologies. Draco on the other hand took it in stride; he was far too exhilarated for anything to bother him today. "I'm guessing that means you want me to leave?"

"Just for a few minutes, you can wait just outside the door if you like.

"Alright," Draco stepped into the hall and leaned against the wall beside the door wearing a blissful smile. He had finally proposed; sure, it hadn't happened at all how he'd planned, but she had accepted which was all he cared about. They were going to be married! Even though Draco had been thinking about it for quite some time, the significance and reality of it was only just beginning to hit. Draco closed his eyes and allowed himself a brief daydream about what life being married to Hermione would be like; it was a wonderful image. But after nearly ten minutes, Draco left his daydream and began to wonder what was taking so long. Surely they hadn't found anything wrong; other than being tired and sore, Hermione seemed perfectly fine to him.

Just as Draco was about to barge in, the door opened and Jill stepped out and looked at Draco with an odd expression. "Take good care of her Draco."

This statement took Draco by surprise, but after the initial shock he nodded, "I will."

"It was nice to meet you."

"You too," Draco got this feeling that they were saying goodbye, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too high, just in case he misunderstood.

Jill smiled at him, and then walked off to check on another patient in another room.

Draco then stepped inside Hermione's room and was pleased to find her beaming at him. "What did she say?"

Somehow, Hermione's smile got even wider, "she said I can go home!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah!"

Draco ran forward and scooped Hermione up in his arms, when he put her back down, he found tears in her eyes. He wiped them from her cheeks with his thumbs and gently kissed her forehead. "Let's get you home then." Draco led them down to the lobby. Hermione was still recovering, so her movements were slow and she used Draco as support while walking, but that didn't matter to either of them, both were so happy that nothing could ruin it now. When they got to the lobby and as they were approaching the apparation area, Draco paused.

"What's wrong?" asked Hermione, cocking her head at the look on his face.

"You said you could go home, which home are you going to?"

Hermione looked taken aback, "I hadn't thought about that," she thought aloud. "Well, I definitely want to see my parents, and of course I have to go back to Grimmauld Place to see Harry and Ron…"

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes; he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"And of course all my stuff is there, so I'd need to pack it up," Hermione eyed Draco mischievously.

Draco smirked as he caught onto her meaning, "you mean that?"

"There's nowhere I'd rather be than with you."

Draco couldn't help himself, he pulled Hermione into a deep kiss, which left her with no doubt that he wanted more.

Hermione however, pulled away when she felt his tongue against her lips. She did not fail to notice the hint of disappointment in his eyes, so she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips and whispered, "let's save that for later, shall we?"

Draco's disappointed expression immediately changed into one of eager excitement, "promise?"

"I promise. You're not the only one who misses that you know."

"We better get going then," Draco winked. "To your parents' house?"

"Yeah."

Draco held both of Hermione's hands as he apparated the two of them to the entryway of the Granger household. Hermione looked around with delight "Mum! Dad! I'm home!"

"Hermione?" Mrs. Granger's voice called from the kitchen, she sounded as if she did not believe her ears.

"Yes, it's me, they let me go!" Hermione made to run forward, but found that it hurt too much, so instead it was her mother who came running.

"Oh goodness Hermione!" she cried at the sight of her daughter, "it's so good to see you here, away from that hospital, and out of that bed! You look wonderful!"

"I feel wonderful Mum, better than I ever have."

Mrs. Granger pulled away to examine her daughter more closely. Upon second glance she could tell that Hermione was glowing, she was beaming brighter than Mrs. Granger had ever seen. Mrs. Granger cast a glance to Draco, sensing that something more was going on than just Hermione being released from the hospital. However, as usual, Draco's face betrayed nothing more than a smile.

"Is dad here?" asked Hermione.

Before Mrs. Granger could answer, Mr. Granger's footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. "Hermione!" he smiled, "I thought I heard you." He rushed forward and enveloped his daughter in a big hug. "It's great to see you up and about again sweetie, and you look great."

Hermione beamed, it was clear to Draco that she wouldn't be able to contain her excitement much longer. He chose to remain off to the side while Hermione greeted her parents, and waited for her to break the news. His heart began pumping as he began to anticipate the reactions from Hermione's parents. He wasn't worried that they would not approve, he was just anxious to hear Hermione announce it.

Hermione put her hands behind her back so as to hide the ring until the right moment. "Mum, Dad," she smiled, "I have something to tell you."

Hermione's parents both stopped short, now they both could tell that something important was coming.

Hermione thrust her hand with the ring forward and announced, "Draco and I are getting married!"

Both of Hermione's parents looked absolutely shocked. Mrs. Granger's hands flew to her mouth as she gazed between Hermione, the ring, and Draco. Draco stepped forward, and wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist as they both waited for one of her parent's to say something.

It was Mrs. Granger who spoke first, "oh my god," she gasped as she took Hermione's hand to look closer at the ring. "It's beautiful. Oh honey I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Granger hugged Hermione tight and then hugged Draco as well.

Mr. Granger meanwhile hugged his daughter, "I can't believe my little girl has grown up so fast, and now she's getting married." When he pulled away everyone saw tears at the corners of his eyes. "And you," he said to Draco, "you make sure you take good care of her."

"I will," Draco nodded.

Mr. Granger smiled and extended his hand to Draco. Draco shook his hand and found himself pulled into another hug. He made a mental note to get used to the hugging because clearly he was going to be doing a lot of it as a part of this family.

When he pulled away, Draco noticed that Mr. Granger was eying him skeptically, and Draco began to think that perhaps Hermione's father might not be quite as accepting of he and Hermione getting married as Draco had thought. Mr. Granger opened his mouth and Draco braced himself for a lecture.

So he was noticeably surprised when Mr. Granger asked, "you two didn't sneak out of the hospital to tell us this did you?"

Hermione pretended to be offended by the thought, while Draco breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"Of course not Dad, we would never do a thing like that! Although, I did have to beg Jill to let me go…"

"You did?" asked Draco, who was rather surprised that Hermione would do such a thing.

"Uh huh, it took a while, but in the end she saw that there was no way they'd be able to keep me there. I am way too excited to lie in that bloody bed all day." Hermione gazed fondly at Draco as she spoke of her happiness, causing him to smirk back.

- - - - - - - - - -

Mrs. Granger insisted on making a celebratory brunch in honor of Hermione returning home, and of the engagement. Once they started eating, Mrs. Granger and Hermione began eagerly discussing wedding related topics. Draco half listened, though he found that actually listening too much caused a big knot to form in his stomach, so after a while he tuned them out. In the middle of the brunch, the doorbell rang, and Mr. Granger volunteered to get it. Not that anyone heard the doorbell other than him; the women didn't seem to hear anything besides each other and Draco was too wrapped up in gazing at Hermione and thinking about how perfect his life had suddenly become.

But of course, whenever Draco entertained the thought that his life was perfect, Potter seemed to come along and ruin his fun; and today was no exception.

From the entryway, Mr. Granger called, "Hermione, there's some people here to see you!""Hermione!" Draco heard Harry, Ron, and Ginny cry.

Hermione squealed and tried to run to them, but ended up walking rather stiffly instead with Draco at her side making sure she didn't hurt herself. Behind them, Mrs. Granger smiled at Draco's behavior; it warmed her heart to see him so protective of her daughter. Mrs. Granger had no doubt that with him Hermione would be happy and protected.

"Hey guys!" Hermione beamed, the moment she saw her friends.

Draco meanwhile stayed off to the side and silently bid farewell to all hopes of having any sort of alone time with Hermione anytime soon.

"We were so worried when we found your room empty! But then when they said that you were sent home we were so excited we came straight here," Ron was explaining.

"I can see that," Hermione laughed.

"You should have seen Ron, he nearly went crazy on them when we couldn't find you," chuckled Harry.

"I did not!" Ron disagreed.

"Ron, they were about to strap you down and take you to the insane ward," Ginny teased with a roll of her eyes.

"You're exaggerating," argued Ron, though his bright red ears suggested otherwise.

"We're just so happy to have you back Hermione, we missed you," said Harry.

"You have no idea how good it is to be back!"

Harry and Ron then began catching Hermione up on everything that had been going on since she was brought to the hospital, but Ginny remained uncharacteristically silent. Her silence did not go unnoticed for long, "Ginny, is something wrong?" Hermione asked, causing everyone to look at Ginny.

But Ginny either did not notice, or did not care, she was staring at a certain object, on a certain finger on Hermione's hand. Though only one person seemed to immediately know what she was looking at.

Draco smirked, and moved next to Hermione "I think little Weasley spotted something," he whispered into her ear.

Hermione gasped, and covered the ring with her opposite hand while a bright pink tinge overcame her face, and a smile spread over her lips.

This reaction caused Ginny to gasp with a look of awe and extreme excitement on her face. "You did not!" The question, which wasn't really a question at all, was directed to Draco, which only served to further confuse Harry and Ron.

Draco's lips quickly formed his trademark smirk, "yes, I did," he stated as he snaked his arm around Hermione's waist.

"AHHHHH!!!" Ginny screeched and launched herself at Hermione, giving her a backbreaking hug. When she let go, she slapped Hermione playfully on the shoulder, "how could you not have told me the minute I walked in!"

Hermione tried to look apologetic, but she could no longer suppress her exuberant smile.

"Tell you what?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, what are you talking about? And what did Malfoy do?" Harry added.

The last question caused both Hermione and Ginny to burst into a fit of giggles and Draco to look even smugger than he already did. He was very tempted to answer the question, but he had a feeling that the news would go over better if it came from Hermione. So instead of speaking, he patiently waited for the girls' giggling to end while silently reveling in how happy Hermione looked at that moment.

When the giggles finally did subside, and Hermione had caught her breath again, she held out her hand for her friends to see and said in a voice of pure bliss, "Draco asked me to marry him."

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**A/N: **Now how will Harry and Ron react to that?? Find out next chapter! And please review to let me know what you think! Thanks:o) 


	17. I Vow to You

**Disclaimer: **I am not J.K. Rowling (if I was I would be preparing for an actual book release as opposed to posting a fanfic chapter,) therefore, I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N: **After a very long wait, I present to you the final chapter in the final instalment of the 'Serpent Fang' series. It is a bittersweet feeling to be done with it. I will definitely miss writing it, but I am happy in that I feel I have accomplished something by completing the entire series.

I know that everyone is excited and axiously awaiting the release of Deathly Hallows in 10 days, but I hope in the meantime you will enjoy reading this chapter. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed any of the chapters for my fics, you have no idea the confidence, inspiration and happiness reading your reviews provide me. So on that note, I present you with the final chapter of _Serpent Fangs and Lion Strength. _It has been a pleasure writing...

* * *

**Chapter 17: I Vow to You**

_"Draco asked me to marry him."_

As soon as Hermione had the words out of her mouth, Ginny squealed and hugged Hermione again. And then Ginny surprised everyone by throwing her arms around Draco; who unprepared for Ginny's attack, stumbled backwards with a shocked expression. He remained tense even after she let go and launched into a whirlwind of congratulations directed to both him and Hermione. Hermione covered her mouth to hide her giggles at how Draco reacted to Ginny's hug. She stepped to his side and put her arm around him to relax him. It worked, and after releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he managed to calm down at least a little bit. The little Weasley was still blabbering away, but Draco wasn't listening. His attention was focused on the other two visitors, the ones he still could not seem to get along with, and who both looked stunned beyond belief and the announcement they had just heard.

"…and that ring is gorgeous! I don't think I've ever seen a stone quite like that, where on earth did you find it?"

Draco looked like he was going to answer, but at the last minute he shrugged and said, "around."

Hermione narrowed her eyes with curiosity and made a mental note to ask him a bout it later.

Ginny however, either didn't notice or didn't car, she had far too many questions to ask to be concerned about one vague answer from Malfoy. "So, Hermione how did he ask you? Was it romantic? Did you cry? What did you say? Come on! I need details!"

"Ginny!" Hermione reprimanded her friend while doing her best to suppress a blush which was fast spreading across her entire face, "we can talk later alright?"

"Hmph," Ginny slumped in disappointment, "fine, but when we do talk I want full details, got it?"

"Okay, I get it," Hermione smiled, "I won't leave anything out."

"You'd better not!" Ginny smiled.

Hermione then turned her attention to her two best friends, whose lack of reaction was making her nervous. "Guys?" she ventured tentatively, "please say something."

Ron couldn't seem to do anything more that stare at her in open-mouthed shock. Harry on the other hand, managed to close his mouth and blink back to reality. But still, all he could seem to say was "wow."

Hermione bit her lip, unsure of what her friends were thinking. Draco could feel her tensing up, so he gave her a comforting squeeze with the arm that was around her waist.

Luckily for everyone, Ginny was not so patient with the boys. "Oh get over it! This shouldn't be half as surprising as you two are acting like it is, seriously," she rolled her eyes. "After everything they've been through, you had to have known it was going to happen sometime!"

Hermione blushed and smiled and Ginny coming to their defense and supporting their engagement. Draco meanwhile smirked appreciatively, "I think I'm starting to like you little Weasley," he remarked.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "then why don't you try calling me by my name? It's Ginny in case you didn't know."

Draco pretended to consider the idea, "no, I think little Weasley will do."

Ginny laughed under her breath, "whatever Draco," but then she paused and wrinkled her nose, "that sounds so weird to say, mind if I stick with Malfoy?"

"Fine by me," agreed Draco.

Hermione laughed at the pair of them, but was thrilled nonetheless, at least one of her friends was getting along with Draco. The other two however were clearly going to need more time.

But perhaps not as much as Hermione thought; Harry stepped forward and glanced at the couple. He then smiled genuinely, "congratulations Hermione." He opened his arms to give her a big brotherly hug. He then turned to Draco, "Malfoy," he extended his hand, which Draco shook firmly, "take care of her."

Draco nodded.

"Because she deserves nothing but the best."

"That's exactly what I plan on giving her."

Hermione felt heart swell at the exchange, for once there was not a single trace of malice or sarcasm from either of them. She could hardly believe it. Now there was only one left; Hermione turned her attention to Ron, casting him a hopeful glance.

But Ron appeared to be lost in shock in a world all his own until Harry nudged him to get his attention. Ron cleared his throat, but still seemed completely baffled.

"Ron," said Ginny as if she was speaking to a two-year-old, "aren't you happy for Hermione and Malfoy?"

"Oh," Ron stuttered, "right, umm of course, congratulations."

Even though he didn't look entirely pleased with what he had just said, it was good enough for Hermione. She pulled him into a big hug, "thanks Ron!"

- - - - - - - - - -

In the following months, time seemed to fly by. With all the wedding plans and returning to Auror training, Hermione wished she had a time-turner again just so she could catch her breath. However, on this particular day, Hermione would not have turned back time for anything, because it was April 20th, the last day she would be calling herself Hermione _Granger_. She was thinking such thoughts as she lay with Draco in the garden at the manor watching the sun as it made its descent towards the horizon. She sighed with a rapturous smile on her face.

Draco turned his head and looked at her curiously, "what are you thinking about?"

"How by this time tomorrow, I'm going to be married. I still can't believe it."

Draco didn't say anything; instead he just turned his head and placed butterfly kisses on Hermione's cheek and neck causing Hermione to giggle. "I can't wait for our wedding," he whispered in her ear.

"Me either," she whispered back. But then her expression turned serious, "have you heard from your mother?"

Draco turned his head so that he was staring up at the sky, "no, I sent her an invitation, but she never responded."

Hermione turned so that she was lying on her side facing her fiancé; he was staring up at the sky, refusing to look her way. Hermione knew he wanted her to think that he didn't care about the lack of response from his mother, but she knew the truth. Behind his cool gray eyes was disappointment. Hermione stroked Draco's cheek to draw his attention to her. "I'm sorry."

Draco closed his eyes and shook his head, "it's no big deal, I'm fine."

"But it is a big deal! Her son, her only child his getting married, she should be there to celebrate your happiness!"

Draco sat up and held Hermione's hand, "but she wouldn't celebrate; we both know that. And I would much rather she not be there to ruin our special day."

Hermione sighed sadly, "you're right," she conceded. "But I just wish that she could be happy for you, I know she means a lot to you."

"She does, but you mean more. And between the two of you, I'd much rather you be there and her."

Hermione smiled, "you don't have to worry for one moment about whether or not I'll be there," she kissed him.

"I know," Draco smiled before kissing her back.

Draco pushed himself up and eased forward so that Hermione was laying on the grass with him hovering over her. Draco pulled apart from her and simply gazed at her. He took in every inch of her face, the way he hair was splayed out on the grass in tangled curse, the way her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with golden flecks in the vanishing sunlight, her soft pink lips and perfect white teeth; to him nothing could be more beautiful.

"Please stop," Hermione's soft voice interrupted Draco's appraisal of her perfections; the little things which made her, her, that he now appreciated more than ever.

"What?" he thought for sure that he had heard her wrong, for he hadn't been doing anything other than looking.

"It's torture to be so close to you, to look at you without touching you right now," she explained before grabbing his head and pulling it down to hers.

Draco chuckled into her kiss and first, but then returned it full force; reveling in the gasps and moans coming from his fiancé's mouth.

It was only when the sun had fully set that Draco and Hermione stopped their little escapade to move indoors.

"I should be going anyway," Hermione said once they were back inside the manor.

"Just a little while longer," Draco argued, though he already knew what her response would be.

Hermione smiled at him, "we've been through this, you know that arguments won't work."

Draco grinned, "but they keep you here longer."

Hermione laughed, "yeah okay, well tonight it's not going to work."

Draco pouted.

"Because I plan on being well-rested for tomorrow," Hermione could barely contain her excitement.

Draco smirked and wrapped his arms around Hermione's waist, "I can't wait for tomorrow, after that we'll never have to say goodbye like this again.."

"That will be wonderful," Hermione hugged him back, "so think of it this way, the sooner I have, the sooner you can go to sleep, which will make tomorrow come faster."

"You and your damn logic," kidded Draco, as he began placing soft kisses on Hermione's neck.

Hermione almost gave into him; her hands were making their way around Draco's neck. But at the last moment, her brain kicked in and she pushed him away instead, "no no no, no more of that until tomorrow Mr. Malfoy."

Draco groaned and hugged her closer, "but tonight is the last night I will ever have the chance to kiss you _Miss Granger_."

Hermione giggled "true," she smiled up at her husband-to-be. "Alright, one more," she leaned in to kiss Draco slow and long.

Draco matched her passion and then some; he pulled her so close that not even air could get between them. He made sure it lasted until neither of them had any air left. When they finally did break apart both of their faces were flushed and they were gasping for air.

For several moments, until they caught their breath, they just stood their staring at each other, until Hermione finally broke the silence, "goodnight Draco."

"Until tomorrow," he smiled,

Hermione nodded, "until tomorrow."

"Sleep well then," he whispered.

"Dreaming of you," Hermione grinned girlishly before disapparating.

Once he was alone, Draco sighed and made his way back inside the manor. He was aware of the fact that he probably should have felt jittery or at least have more on his mind. But instead, he found that he couldn't recall a time that he had felt so relaxed and at peace with his life in general. It wasn't that he wasn't excited, he was, so much so that his heart began to pound at the mere thought of his upcoming wedding and his lovely bride. But besides that, he was completely calm, he had no worries about the following day, or about his future; and it felt good.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hermione apparated just outside the Burrow where she was meeting Ginny; the girls had planned a sleepover at Hermione's house, and Hermione wanted to make sure that Ginny got there alright. She knocked at the door and was greeted by a cheery Mrs. Weasley.

"Hermione dear, it's so nice to see you. Please come in, would you like something to eat, or some tea?"

"No thank you, I had dinner with Draco. Is Ginny ready?"

"Almost, she's gathering her things as we speak. Why don't you take a seat and I'll let her know you're here."

"Great, thank you." Hermione sat down in the Weasley's kitchen She used the brief time alone to reflect on all the feelings she was experiencing. She was almost surprised in a way to find that she was not the least bit scared or nervous. Considering how monumental of a step she was taking the following day, one would think that she would be feeling at least a little nervous. But instead she was filled with excitement and bliss; she had never felt so calm.

Her happiness must have shown on her face because when Mrs. Weasley returned, she remarked with a smile, "such a wonderful feeling to be young and in love."

Hermione smiled, "yes it is. I don't think I've ever been happier."

At that point, Ginny came bouncing into the room carrying an overnight bag on her shoulder, "hey Hermione! Sorry to make you wait."

No worries," assured Hermione," are you ready now?"

"Yup, let's get out of here! Bye Mum!"

"Have fun girls, and I'll see you tomorrow at the wedding!"

The girls waved goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and then went outside so they could apparate easier. Hermione took Ginny's hand and apparated them both directly into her room.

"So," said Ginny after she and Hermione had settled into their pajamas and were lounging around in Hermione's room, "are you really nervous?"

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "no, not at all. I thought I would be, and I'm surprised I'm not, but I just feel happy, like there's nothing for me to ever worry about again."

"Aww!" Ginny smiled, "I think that's how you know you're making the right decision."

"There has never been a doubt in my mind about that."

"You and Draco are going to be so happy together!" Ginny squealed. "Do you think he's nervous?"

"I doubt it, he rarely is. Besides, it's not like he's overtly emotional anyway, so it's hard to tell what he's feeling sometimes."

"True…can I see your dress again?"

"Ginny, you've seen it about a dozen times already!"

"I know, but it's so perfect and beautiful, just once more."

"Oh fine," Hermione pretended to be annoyed, but Ginny knew she wasn't. On the contrary, Hermione loved looking at her dress. She had even found herself waking up in the middle of the night over the past week just to look at it, or even try it on. She kept imagining how Draco would react when he saw it; thinking about it now caused her to grin uncontrollably.

"Malfoy won't know what to do with himself when he sees you wearing that tomorrow!" cried Ginny.

Hermione laughed, "well then it's lucky for him all he needs to do is stand there. I on the other hand…I just hope I don't trip and make a fool of myself in front of everyone."

"Hermione!" groaned Ginny, "don't be silly, you're going to trip, you're going to look beautiful and graceful and everything will be perfect. Trust me."

Hermione smiled, "okay, if you say so."

"I do, and besides, even if you do trip, I'm sure Malfoy would be right there to catch you before you even touched the ground."

"Ginny, that's so corny," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's still true. Now go to sleep, I want you well rested for tomorrow."

"Yes _Mum_," Hermione kidded.

An hour later, both Hermione and Ginny were lying in the darkness of Hermione's room. Hermione was lying with her eyes open, looking around her room on what would be the last night she would ever sleep in it. Again, as is had so many times since Draco proposed, the profoundness of what she was about to do the following day hit her and brought mass amounts of butterflies to her stomach. They tickled and excited her from the inside out so much that she nearly giggled aloud. For a moment she thought she had when she heard Ginny speak.

"Hey Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to be getting married?"

Hermione took a moment to reflect before she answered, "it's very surreal actually," she confessed. "Sometimes I have to stop and pinch myself just to prove it's all real. Just thinking about what my life is going to be like now makes me all giggly and excited."

"I can tell," smiled Ginny, "I can see you glowing from here. I'm glad you and Draco are so happy together."

"Me too," sighed Hermione. Thinking about Draco brought a smile to her face and caused her to completely relax, before she knew it she was fast asleep.

- - - - - - - - - -

The morning of April 21st went by as if time was moving at double speed. Before Hermione knew it, she was slipping on her wedding dress for what would be the final time. Her hair was already done in an elegant up do, small crystal pins which were interspersed throughout glittered in the light. The crystals had been Ginny's idea; the redhead had insisted that since there were small crystals all over Hermione's dress, the ones in her hair completed the look. Now as she saw her reflection in the mirror, Hermione had to admit that Ginny had been absolutely correct.

Mrs. Granger, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny bustled around the room getting themselves and everything else ready. Hermione however, was the utmost picture of calm, it almost seemed as though she was watching another girl's wedding,. It all just seemed too good to be real.

Hermione inhaled a deep breath as she surveyed her reflection. 'This is it,' she thought with a smile. In less than an hour she would be walking down the aisle, which would lead her to her new life married to Draco. Already this was feeling like the greatest day of her life and she hadn't even gotten to the really good part yet.

The room where Draco was preparing was notably less active than Hermione's room; for the sole reason that he was the only one in it. Draco, for his part, was actually more nervous that Hermione, not that anyone other than she would have been able to tell. It was really more anxiousness than nervousness anyway.

Where time was flying by for Hermione, it was standing still for Draco. In his mind, minutes turned to hours, and it seemed like an eternity before a knock on his door signaled that it was about time to begin. Draco opened the door to find his former headmaster on the other side, blue eyes twinkling even more so than usual.

"Draco," Dumbledore bowed his head with a smile.

"Albus," greeted Draco less formally than he usually would. But he was in an extremely good mood, which demanded to be expressed however slightly.

"It's time."

Draco nodded, "thank you." Draco then followed Dumbledore through the corridor to the open hall, which was perfectly set and decorated for an elegant, yet intimate wedding. 'Hermione's going to love this,' was Draco's first thought when he stepped into the hall and saw it all decorated just the way Hermione wanted it.

Because of the fact that they had opted for a small wedding, inviting only their closest friends and family, Draco had encouraged Hermione to go all out on the decorations for the ceremony and reception. At first she turned down his insistences saying that all she needed for the perfect wedding was for Draco to be there. However, Draco wanted her to have fun with it and make it as perfect as she could imagine, so after finding that his encouragement was not enough, he secretly enlisted Ginny's help. Sure enough, the little Weasley succeeded.

Ginny spent days with Hermione talking about all sorts of decorations, flowers, food, etc. so that by the time she was done Hermione had been sucked into the excitement and finally allowed herself to go all out. It was still rather modest compared to the functions Draco had grown up attending, however it was what Hermione wanted, so that made it spectacular.

Allowing a smile, Draco slowly made his way to his place at the front of the room. The hall was small, so nearly all the seats were filled. Hermione's mother set up front, along with Potter, Weasley and little Weasley; Draco and Hermione had agreed not to have a wedding party since Draco had no one for best man and he refused to invite Potter or Weasley to take the position. Hermione conceded and the only one who was disappointed was Ginny, though for all intents and purposes, she served the role of maid of honor anyway, just without the title. Also present were members of Hermione's family, some professors from Hogwarts and several members of the Order.

Draco scanned the crowd, forcing himself not to care that he really had no one there for him. Sure, he was civil to most of them now, but they were really all there for Hermione. But Hermione was there for him and that, he told himself, was all that mattered.

Draco was just beginning to get impatient with waiting and standing there alone in front of everyone when the music began. Everyone turned in their seats to look at the bride; everyone except one that was. It was actually this lack of movement that attracted Draco's attention and drew his eyes away from the doors that Hermione stood behind. Draco could not help but gasp when he spotted his mother sitting in the back of the hall staring directly at him. As he watched her, she raised a handkerchief to her eye and delicately dabbed away a tear. She sent Draco a small, yet genuine smile to which he beamed back. He watched her until a collective sigh drew his attention back to the doors at the end of the aisle.

What he saw caused his heart of pound in his chest. The doors had opened to reveal Hermione, looking radiant, standing beside her father. Draco was mesmerized as she began to glide towards him. Her pearl white dress was perfect, and tiny crystals made her entire body sparkle with every step she took. She was beaming back at Draco so brightly that he could have sworn she was glowing. Before he knew it, Hermione was hugging her father and stepping up beside Draco.

Draco could not take his eyes off her. As if from far away, he heard the Vow Bonder speaking, but he had no clue what was being said. He felt Hermione's hands slip into his and give them a light squeeze.

"Breathe," she whispered.

Draco hadn't even realized that he had been holding his breath the entire time Hermione had been walking down the aisle. He exhaled long and slow and gave Hermione's hands a thankful squeeze. She smiled secretly back at him and turned her attention to the Vow Bonder prompting Draco to do the same.

"Now," the Vow Bonder said, "I have been told that the couple has chosen to write their own vows. Hermione, if you please…"

Hermione nodded, turned to face Draco and took a deep breath. "When I was young my grandmother once told me; 'We choose those we like; with those we love, we have no say in the matter.' At the time I didn't understand it," Hermione smiled up at Draco, "now I know it is true. I don't think anyone in a million years could have predicted that we would be where we are today, sealing a bond, and a promise to be together forever; and I know that I never believed it possible for me to love someone as much as I love you. Even if I could, I would never change anything about our past because it brought us to what we have now. I cherish the love we have, and I can't wait to share it with you from this day on, I know we will have a wonderful future together. I love you Draco, and I am honored to be your wife."

For a moment after Hermione had finished her vow, Draco could not speak. From the front row, Hermione's mother let out a joyous sob. She shook her head and tried to wave attention away from her. Hermione smiled in an embarrassed way, but never took her eyes off Draco's. Draco meanwhile, was rather oblivious to Mrs. Granger; he was thinking of only what he had to say to Hermione. So with a deep breath, he began.

"Hermione, I don't think I will ever be able to adequately express just how thankful I am to you for everything you've done and everything you are, but I promise that I will do my best to show you every day from now on. You somehow believed in my when no one, including myself did. You did more than change my life; you gave me a chance to really live, and to be a different person. You've taught me so much, most importantly, how to love; and I love you more than anyone or anything else in this entire world. I am honored and blessed to pledge my entire self to you for the rest of my life, and I am certain that our future will be great because we will be together in it. I don't know what I would do without you, and I thank you for being there for me, and loving me like you do. You are my everything, and I am honored to become your husband."

By the end of Draco's vow, Mrs. Granger could no longer control her happy tears, and even Hermione seemed to be tearing up, though she was beaming bright as the sun at the same time.

"Wonderful," said the Vow Bonder. "Now please face me and place you left hands together."

Hermione and Draco did as they were told; they placed their palms together and turned towards the Vow Bonder.

The Vow Bonder took out his wand and began waving it in small circles in front of their hands causing gold and platinum threats to swirl through the air. "Friends and family, the vows that these two have shared demonstrate their love and commitment to one another. A commitment, which they vow to honor and cherish from this day forth, and through this ceremony, wish to share with all of you." At this point, the Vow Bonder stopped making circles with his wand and swished it upwards. The gold and platinum threads wound their way around Hermione and Draco's ring fingers, becoming the wedding bands, which would signify their marriage to the rest of the world.

Once the rings were set, Draco laced his fingers in between Hermione's, raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "These two are bound by love from this day on, " continued the Vow Bonder, "and now Draco, you may kiss the bride."

Draco's smile widened at those words, as he had been waiting for them throughout the entire ceremony. He released her hand, and slipped his arms around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her waiting lips. The kiss was long and full of passion, so much so that the newly married couple was entirely oblivious to the clapping and cheers from their friends and family. When they finally broke the kiss, Draco leaned forward and kissed Hermione's forehead, "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she answered as she took his hands into hers.

Hermione and Draco both beamed as they finally became aware of all the cheering going on around them. They turned to face their audience and Draco looped his arm around Hermione's waist, holding her close as they made their way down the aisle together. As soon as the doors had closed behind them, and they were alone, they both attacked each other with kisses as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

"I have been wanting to do that ever since I saw you standing at the end of the aisle," confessed Draco.

Hermione giggled and playfully slapped Draco's shoulder; "well I thank you for restraining yourself then."

"No problem," smiled Draco.

"What were you looking at anyway?"

'What do you mean?"

"When the doors opened, everyone was looking at me, but you were looking somewhere else, off to the side."

"Oh!" exclaimed Draco, "I was looking at my mother."

"She came?!" cried Hermione.

"Yeah."

"Are you, okay with that?" asked Hermione; unsure of what Draco was thinking. He had said that he didn't want his mother there, but Hermione had never believed him.

Draco nodded, "she smiled at me, I think she might be starting to accept the way I want to live my life."

"Draco that's wonderful!" Hermione threw her arms around Draco and kissed him again. For a while the two stood their holding each other, gazing at one another and every now and then kissing each other. Draco would have been content to remain alone with her in that room for the entire day, however Hermione, always the voice of reason spoke up. "So, it's probably about time to get to the reception, we don't want to keep everyone waiting."

"True, or Potter and Weasley will wonder what I've done with you."

Hermione rolled her eyes with a smile. Hand in hand, the newlyweds walked down the hall to where the Vow Bonder was standing outside a pair of double doors behind which everyone was already gathered for the reception. Before they opened the doors, Draco turned to his new wife, "so are you ready to begin our life together Mrs. Malfoy?"

Hermione giggled, it was going to take some time to get used to her new surname, but she definitely liked it. "Yes. Are you?"

"Absolutely. Let's go then," Draco gave a nod to the Vow Bonder.

The Vow Bonder nodded back and slipped inside the door, "ladies and gentleman if I could have your attention please."

The room went silent as everyone anxiously awaited the arrival of the newlyweds.

" I am now pleased present to you, for the first time ever, Mr. and Mrs. Draco Malfoy."

Everyone cheered as the doors opened, revealing the newlywed couple Draco and Hermione Malfoy.

**THE END**

* * *

The quote that came from Hermione's grandmother, actually came from_Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960_

**A/N:** Again, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear your thoughts in a review, and everyone who writes a review will recieve a delighted responce. I also hope that everyone enjoys reading Deathly Hallows, I know I can't wait. If anyone would like to talk about the book or theories or whatever, I'm always happy to discuss ;)

Finally, one last thing before I go, let's all hope that our favorite Slytherin bad boy, and the hero of all my fanfics, makes it out alive, otherwise it will be really difficult to continue writing D/Hr fics! GOOD LUCK DRACO! (Of course I also want Hermione to survive, but I'm not half as concerned for her life as I am for Draco's at this point...)

Anyway, good bye for now, and just in case anyone's wondering, I have one more fic that I already started but put on hold for this fic. I will be continuing that one after the release of Deathly Hallows, just in case you're interested.

Thank you everyone for your support criticisms and encouragement, it means a lot to me.

slytherin-kittycat**  
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